Anti-gay behavior investigated by FIFA

The World Cup is a jovial time for all soccer fans around the globe. Occasionally, those fans will get carried away and break passed barriers and storm a stadium. Sometimes, they’ll clean up the stadium after watching their team (good on you, Japan!) And every once in a while, they spout some bigotry.

FIFA is investigating fans from Mexico, Brasil, Russia, and Croatia, and their respective teams may be in limbo over their behavior. Mexico and Brasil fans began chanting homophobic remarks, and Russian and Croatian fans unfurled homophobic banners which FIFA has described as “inappropriate behavior.”

Piara Powar, head of FARE and part of FIFA’s task force to combat racism told the Telegraph, “It seems that some fans of some countries will take their hatred halfway around the world.

‘These images need to be acted on urgently. The levels of homophobic abuse at some matches is also totally unacceptable. There is some rapid education required before it begins to run out of control.

‘FIFA has some strong regulations in place and we hope they use them. Zero tolerance is the approach set out. It is what is required here.”

See more here.