The Spanish football federation (RFEF) is taking its case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) after FIFA rejected its appeal against sanctions imposed on the federation over anti-Muslim chanting by fans during a March match against Egypt.
FIFA fined the RFEF $20,000 and ordered that at least 15% of available seats be closed for Spain's next home friendly.
The sanctions followed the incident at RCDE Stadium near Barcelona, the home ground of LaLiga club Espanyol, where a section of Spanish fans chanted "If you don't jump, you're a Muslim" during a goalless World Cup warm-up friendly.
After the chant was heard a second time, the stadium announcer issued a warning and the electronic display board showed a message opposing discriminatory behaviour.
Spain winger Lamine Yamal, who is Muslim, condemned the chants at the time, describing them as disrespectful and unacceptable and calling those involved "ignorant and racist people".
Spanish police opened an investigation the following day, while world football's governing body FIFA subsequently launched disciplinary proceedings against the RFEF.
The RFEF argued that the word "Muslim" is "neither offensive nor derogatory", and that the fans' behaviour should be assessed under Article 17 of the FIFA rules, 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, holding that Article 15 does not require the explicit use of a slur, and that a term can be discriminatory when used in a context such as "an insult, mockery or a sign marking inferiority".
The RFEF appealed the sanctions, but a FIFA spokesperson told Reuters the appeal was dismissed last week, prompting the Spanish federation to take the case to CAS, the highest authority for sports disputes.
"Throughout these proceedings, the RFEF has maintained that the federation acted immediately, prudently and effectively from the moment the incident came to light," a senior RFEF official told Reuters.
"Furthermore, the measures applied ensured that those chants did not recur and that the spectators present in the stadium themselves expressed their disapproval of such behaviour."
The official said the federation considers the sanctions exceptionally severe, arguing that similar capacity restrictions have not been applied automatically in more serious cases or those with a prior disciplinary record.
According to the official, the chants were detected by the RFEF's monitoring system and reported immediately to match officials, and security was reinforced in the affected area of the stadium.
"The federation has cooperated fully with the relevant authorities to identify those involved."
