Sunday night`s Concacaf Nations League final between Mexico and Panama was briefly delayed because of anti-gay chants heard inside SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. In the 82nd minute, Concacaf issued a first warning before stopping the game a few minutes later. Play resumed after a short pause, and Mexico eventually defeated Panama 2-1.
This is the third consecutive year that these chants have disrupted the competition, also occurring in the 2023 semifinal between the United States and Mexico and the 2024 final involving the same two teams.
Mexico won the match with a late penalty from Raul Jimenez, his second goal of the game, scored in the 92nd minute. This victory secured El Tri`s first Concacaf Nations League title. The United States lost to Canada in the third-place match earlier on Sunday.
Background
In previous Nations League finals, matches involving Mexico have been stopped due to fans using the anti-gay chant. El Tri`s 2021 semifinal victory over Costa Rica was paused for three minutes during a penalty shootout, leading to the ejection of several fans. In the CNL final against the U.S. men`s national team a few days later, the match was again paused for three minutes during second-half stoppage time. It happened again in 2024.
Anti-discrimination Policies
Before the first Nations League finals in 2021, Concacaf established a three-step policy aligning with FIFA`s guidelines on discriminatory language from fans.
According to this policy, if discriminatory behavior is heard, the referee will initially halt the match temporarily. This pause will be followed by an announcement in the stadium and a message on stadium screens explaining the stoppage and requesting fans to stop using discriminatory language.
If the behavior persists, the referee can then suspend the match, sending teams to the locker room for a duration deemed appropriate by officials. This decision will also be accompanied by announcements. As a final measure, the referee has the authority to abandon the match.
