FIFA Fines Germany For Fans Chanting Nazi Slogans

There is an interesting ruling by FIFA which has fined the German soccer federation 32,000 Swiss francs ($33,000) because fans chanted Nazi slogans at a World Cup qualifying game in the Czech Republic. It is a curious decision to penalize a team for the actions of third parties who are not under its control.  It is not clear what FIFA expected the Germans to do to fans chanting in a foreign stadium.  The team not that the offensive fans did not buy tickets through official channels.  How is the team responsible?

The “improper conduct” violations against Germany is only the latest such fines against teams, including fines for chanting anti-gay slogans.  Assuming that FIFA does not really expect the team to police the speech of fans (particularly on foreign soil), the only other possibility is that FIFA is hoping that fans will be deterred if they know that their teams are being penalized–an unlikely prospect.

Of course, in baseball, we now appear to be tossing fans for merely figuring out (and calling out) pitches.