The Mexican Football Federation announced on Monday that fans who are caught yelling homophobic chants at national team games will be banned for five years, The Associated Press reports.
Soccer fans in Mexico will now have to register when buying a ticket and present a QR code and identification upon stadium entry, federation President Yon de Luisa explained during a press conference. Anyone who participates in the chant, which is typically directed at opposing goalkeepers and contains a homophobic slur, will be removed from the stadium and banned.
The new policy comes after Mexico was penalized by FIFA in November over derogatory chanting during the October qualifiers in Mexico City. The organization banned Mexico from having fans present at two World Cup qualifying home games and ordered the Mexican soccer federation to pay 100,000 Swiss francs, about $110,000.
“We can’t tolerate discriminatory acts. We can’t play in empty stadiums. We invite our fans to adopt these measures,” De Luisa said.
The AP notes that the Mexican federation has racked up more than a dozen sanctions over the chant, which reportedly began at a pre-Olympic tournament in 2003.
The new policy is set to go into effect in time for the Mexican men’s national team’s home World Cup qualifier against the United States on March 24 in Azteca Stadium.