MOSCOW — Mexico’s soccer federation and at least two of its team’s star players took to social media on Thursday in a renewed campaign to banish a homophobic chant that has been a fixture at the team’s matches for years.
The effort came one day after FIFA fined Mexico $10,000 for its fans’ use of the slur “puto” at its World Cup opener on Sunday, and as world soccer’s governing body again warned Mexico of more serious consequences if the chanting did not stop.
“To all Mexican fans in the stadiums, don’t shout ‘puto’,” the star striker Javier Hernández wrote on his Instagram account, posting it in the less prominent Stories feature instead of his regular feed. “Let’s not risk another sanction.”
Another player, the midfielder Andrés Guardado, who served as the team’s captain in its first game here, also urged fans to reject the term.
“Let us show that as Mexicans our values are of respect and cordiality,” he wrote on Twitter on Thursday morning. “We have been received with open arms, it is time to show that we are excellent visitors.” Read more via New York Times
Demostremos que como mexicanos nuestros valores son de respeto y cordialidad. Nos han recibido con los brazos abiertos, es hora de mostrar que somos excelentes visitantes. pic.twitter.com/pjyPWKPsDF
— Andrés Guardado (@AGuardado18) June 21, 2018