By Andrew Warshaw, Chief Correspondent
January 9 – In what could be construed by some observers as a clear message to its European counterpart to crack down harder on racism, FIFA have taken strong action against Bulgaria and Hungary for the behaviour of their fans.
Football’s world governing body have ordered Bulgaria to play their next home World Cup qualifier, against Malta on March 22, behind closed doors in addition to a token fine of SFr35,000 Swiss francs. Bulgarian fans made monkey chants at Denmark defender Patrick Mtiliga, whose father is from Tanzania, every time he touched the ball during a qualifier in Sofia on October 12.
The Hungarian federation was fined SFr40,000 and will also have to play their next home World Cup qualifier, against Romania on the same date, in an empty stadium. Fans directed anti-Semitic slogans towards Israel during a friendly on August 15 in Budapest.
The sanctions will not be lost on UEFA who have increasingly been accused of weakness when it comes to punishing racism. UEFA president Michel Platini is leading an appeal against the insufficient sanctions of his own control and disciplinary body imposed on Serbia following the
explosive Euro 2013 under-21 play-off match against England in October.
In a strongly-worded statement, FIFA described the incidents in Sofia as “offensive, denigratory and discriminatory” while those in Budapest were labelled “abhorrent”.
“FIFA strongly condemns all forms of racism in football, and any form of discrimination will not be tolerated and will receive a strong response by the relevant FIFA authorities,” a FIFA statement said.
FIFA could have taken even stronger action but stopped short of docking World Cup points that would have severely damaged the chances of Hungary and Bulgaria from reaching the 2014 finals in Brazil. Both are currently in second place in their respective groups. Hungary’s match against Romania is potentially decisive since both are level with nine points, three behind leaders Netherlands.
FIFA’s disciplinary committee warned that any repetition of racism could lead to harsher penalties which could potentially even include disqualification from the competition though that would be a last resort.
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