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Spain’s football federation is taking its case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport after FIFA rejected an appeal against sanctions imposed for Islamophobic chants by supporters during a match against Egypt in March.
FIFA fined the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) $20,000 and ordered it to close at least 15 percent of the available seats for Spain’s next home friendly.
The sanctions follow incidents at the RCDE Stadium near Barcelona, home of La Liga club Espanyol, where a number of Spain fans chanted, “If you don’t jump, you’re a Muslim” during the goalless World Cup warm-up match.
After the chant was heard a second time, the stadium announcer issued a warning, and the scoreboard displayed a message against discriminatory behaviour.
Spain winger Lamine Yamal, who is Muslim, condemned the chants at the time, describing them as disrespectful and intolerable and calling those responsible “ignorant and racist”.
Spanish police launched an investigation the following day, while world governing body FIFA later started disciplinary proceedings against the RFEF.
The RFEF argued that the word “Muslim” was “neither insulting nor pejorative”, adding that the fans’ conduct should be assessed under FIFA’s Article 17, which covers political, ideological, religious or offensive messages, rather than Article 15, which deals with discrimination and racist abuse.
FIFA’s disciplinary committee rejected that argument, saying Article 15 does not require the explicit use of a slur and that a term can be discriminatory when used in context as “an insult, taunt, or marker of inferiority”.
When Real Madrid splashed out a club record of 140 million euros ($157m) to sign Yan Diomande from RB Leipzig this year, it was because of his clear potential to become one of the game’s stars, as showcased at the 2026 World Cup.
That talent has begun to reveal itself in recent matches, with Diomande lashing in a spectacular strike against Sevilla on Sunday before another encounter with his former side, Leipzig.
Diomande’s sheer potential was not, however, the only reason Madrid forked out.
President Florentino Perez pledged to fans during his campaign for re-election in June that he would pay a fee of that magnitude for a new star as Madrid tried to rebuild following two seasons without a major trophy.
Diomande had demonstrated exciting promise, shining with Leipzig during just one season in Germany after emerging at Spanish side Leganes.
The 19-year-old did not join Madrid to fill an obvious vacancy, with his arrival actually exacerbating an overbooking in attack.
On the same day Diomande’s transfer was announced, Brazilian winger Vinicius Junior signed a new deal until 2032 with Los Blancos.
Madrid struggled last season to find a balance with Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham and Vinicius on the pitch together, let alone throwing a new attacking star carrying a record price tag into the mix.
For a combination of those factors, it should not come as a surprise that Diomande is still finding his footing in the Spanish capital.
The youngster has shown flashes of his great quality, without yet firmly establishing himself as an essential figure for coach Jose Mourinho, although he is improving.
Diomande scored his first goal for the club against Villarreal on October 10 , securing Real Madrid a 1-0 win.
The winger’s superb finish was not the main talking point though, after Vinicius was dismissed later in the game and subsequently banned for four matches.
That further opened the door for Diomande to settle in, with the winger starting on the left wing in Sunday’s 4-1 rout of Sevilla, in which he lashed home from long range in the final stages.
Diomande also provided the assist for Arda Guler’s opener, in his best performance for the club thus far. In total, he has two goals and three assists in 11 appearances across all competitions.
“He has a lot to improve; he’s young, he’s still naive, he’s still not the finished article,” Mourinho said on Sunday.
“At Real Madrid, the demands are very high … but he had a great game. He’s growing.”
Kylian Mbappe scored twice as Real Madrid closed the gap on La Liga leaders Barcelona to six points with a 4-1 win over Sevilla at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday, a week before the rivals meet.
Real climbed to third on 21 points, one behind Atletico Madrid, while Sevilla are sixth on 14.
Despite the suspended Vinicius Jr’s absence, Real produced the fluid attacking football that has been lacking of late, with Arda Guler again orchestrating their best work.
After a stale opening, the Turkiye international sparked the match into life. Sevilla appealed for a red card following an incident involving Guler and Peque Fernandez. But Guler responded minutes later by collecting Yan Diomande’s pass and arrowing a shot into the top corner.
Mbappe scored an equally impressive second in the 37th minute, turning brilliantly to burst through on goal before calmly beating goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos.
Fede Valverde, restored to right back by coach Jose Mourinho, made a crucial block to deny Felix Correia just before the hour as Sevilla threatened to work their way back into the contest.
Diomande then exploited the space created by Sevilla’s more adventurous approach, evading his marker before sending Mbappe in behind the defence. Andres Castrin brought down the French forward, who got to his feet to convert the resulting penalty and effectively settle the contest.
Substitute Manu Bueno reduced Sevilla’s arrears with a composed finish 10 minutes from time after Mbappe cheaply surrendered possession deep inside his own half.
Diomande restored Real’s three-goal advantage two minutes later, capping a fine display with a thunderous strike.
Waiting for the game? You can catch our latest football documentary, Football Fandom: Community or Commodity?
With Manchester City appealing a guilty verdict for breaching Premier League financial rules, the spotlight on ownership has become even greater.
Before kickoff, you can hit play below to watch our full documentary and learn more about how the global game of football is run.
You can also read the latest on the crisis engulfing FIFA President Gianni Infantino in advance of the FIFA elections in March.
Hello, welcome, and thanks for joining our live coverage of Real Madrid against RB Leipzig in football’s Champions League.
It is match week three of the league phase, and the table is already taking shape.
Real have two wins from two, while Leipzig have three points from their two games.