Discrimination and Racist Abuse
1. Any person who offends the dignity or integrity of a country, a person or group of people through contemptuous, discriminatory or derogatory words or actions on account of race, skin colour, ethnicity, nationality, social origin, gender, disability, sexual orientation, language, religion, political or any other opinion, wealth, birth or any other status or any other reason shall be sanctioned with a suspension lasting at least ten matches or a specific period, or any other appropriate disciplinary measure.
2. Member associations and clubs shall take all necessary and reasonable measures to ban from entering stadiums any person who has been charged with, or found guilty of, having racially abused a player, match official, coach, other team official or any other person exercising an official role during a match through contemptuous, discriminatory or derogatory words or actions on account of race, skin colour, descent, nationality or ethnicity, including via social media or any other digital platform or written medium.
3. In the event of racist abuse occurring during a match, the referee will implement FIFA’s three-step anti-discrimination procedure, in line with the relevant regulations and circular letters. The procedure allows the referee to 1) stop the match, 2) suspend the match and 3) abandon the match.
4. Any player or official who is the victim of racist abuse by the crowd during a match may inform the referee by using the appropriate gesture, as outlined in the relevant FIFA rules, or by any other means. The referee may then immediately implement the first step of FIFA’s three-step anti-discrimination procedure, as described in Offences II. 17 paragraph 3 above. Subsequently, the host club, member association or organising authority shall immediately deploy the necessary personnel to the relevant section of the stadium with the aim of stopping the racist abuse. The player or official may also identify the person(s) involved in perpetrating such abuse and request that they be removed from the stadium whenever possible. If they cannot be removed due to security reasons and the racist abuse continues, the referee may implement the second step of FIFA’s three-step anti-discrimination procedure until the abuse desists.
5. In cases where the racist abuse has been personally verified by the referee and the second step of FIFA’s three-step anti-discrimination procedure (i.e. suspend the match) has been applied per paragraph 3 above, the player or official who has been subjected to the abuse may provide the Disciplinary Committee with a victim statement. If the club or member association concerned is unable to provide enough evidence or clarification to disprove the racist abuse alleged by the player or official, the player or official’s statement will be accepted. In such cases, and after all the relevant circumstances have been considered, the Disciplinary Committee may decide to declare the match forfeited by the responsible club or member association.
6. If one or more supporters of a representative team or club engage in the behaviour described in paragraph 1 above, the member association or club responsible will be subject to the following disciplinary measures, even if the member association or club concerned can prove the absence of any fault or negligence:
a) For a first offence, playing a match with a limited number of spectators and a fine of at least USD 20,000 shall be imposed on the association or club concerned, unless this would lead to an unreasonable financial impact on the affected member association or club, in which case the fine may be reduced, on an exceptional basis, to no less than USD 1,000. As an exception to article 6.4 of this Code, the maximum fine to be imposed in cases of racist abuse against a player, match official, coach, other team official or any other person exercising an official role during a match shall be USD 5,000,000;
b) For recidivists or repeat incidents, or if the circumstances of the case require it, disciplinary measures such as the implementation of a prevention plan, a fine, a points deduction, playing one or more matches without spectators, a ban on playing in a particular stadium, the forfeiting of a match, expulsion from a competition or relegation to a lower division may be imposed on the association or club concerned.
7. The competent judicial body may deviate from the above minimum sanctions in either of the following scenarios:
a) The discrimination was perpetrated by a player or official who subsequently admits the offence, in which case up to half of the sanction may, at the discretion of the judicial body, be commuted to educational, communication and training initiatives to be approved by FIFA.
18 b) The association and/or club concerned commits to developing, in conjunction with FIFA, a comprehensive plan to ensure action against discrimination and to prevent repeated incidents. The plan shall be approved by FIFA and shall include, at least, the following three focus areas: i. Educational activities (including a communication campaign aimed at supporters and the general public). The effectiveness of the campaign will be reviewed regularly. ii. Stadium security and dialogue measures (including a policy on how offenders will be identified and dealt with through football sanctions, a policy on escalation to state (criminal) legal authorities, and a dialogue with supporters and influencers on how to create change). iii. Partnerships (including working with supporters, NGOs, experts and stakeholders to advise on and support the action plan and ensure effective and ongoing implementation).
8. Persons who are bound by this Code and have been the victim of potential discriminatory behaviour may be invited by the respective judicial body to make an oral or written victim impact statement, and will have the right to request the motivated decision in proceedings before the judicial bodies, as well as to lodge an appeal and act as party in the disciplinary appeal proceedings in accordance with the applicable provisions of this Code.
9. Unless there are exceptional circumstances, if a match is abandoned by the referee because of discriminatory behaviour and/or racist abuse, the match shall be declared forfeited.