Mexico coach defends homophobic chants at World Cup: ‘It’s not that bad’
The coach of the Mexican national football squad has defended fans following the announcement of a FIFA investigation into the use of a homophobic slur at World Cup matches.
Brazilian fans chanted Portuguese and Spanish gay jibe ‘puto’, meaning a male prostitute and a common gay slur loosely translated as “faggot”.
Mexico coach Miguel Herrera has defended supporters, saying the use of the word is “not that bad.”
He told the Associated Press: “We’re with our fans. It’s something they do to pressure the opposing goalkeeper.”
Mexico was reported by Fare, the fan-monitoring group for chants used during a match against Cameroon.
FIFA later opened disciplinary proceedings against the Mexico Federation, responsible for fan behaviour.
