ZURICH (AP) — World Cup winner Spain has been fined $20,000 by FIFA after fans chanted an anti-Muslim slogan at a warmup friendly against Egypt in Barcelona.
FIFA said Friday the verdict was confirmed in recent days by its appeals body after an initial ruling by three disciplinary judges.
The chant came at a game on March 31 and was later condemned by Spain star Lamine Yamal, who is Muslim, as “disrespectful and intolerable.”
“Using a religion as a taunt on the field makes you look ignorant and racist,” Yamal wrote in April on Instagram. The Barcelona winger was not the direct target of the abuse.
FIFA disciplinary judges wrote in their verdict “harsh sanctions were necessary,” while noting it was a first offense for the Spanish soccer federation, which had reacted quickly to the incident and condemned it.
World soccer's ruling body ordered the federation to pay $20,000 and imposed crowd measures on the team’s next home friendly. That is likely to be in June 2027 or March 2028.
A section of 15% of the seats in the Spain home stadium must be closed or filled with special interest groups “such as families, students, and anti-discrimination organizations.”
The chant was heard in the 10th and 47th minutes of the 0-0 draw at Espanyol’s stadium, the FIFA verdict said.
The judges praised Spanish officials who put in place “preventive measures” before the game, “cooperated fully with the match officials and the relevant authorities,” publicly condemned the chanted and worked to identify the fans responsible.
See AP’s full soccer coverage here
FILE - Spain's Lamine Yamal, left, challenges for the ball with Egypt's Islam Issa during the international friendly soccer match between Spain and Egypt in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort, file)
SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — A fast-moving fire fueled by high winds burned at least six homes in Southern California on Friday, engulfing expensive coastal properties and prompting thousands to evacuate.
Black smoke — visible from miles away — billowed over tennis courts and swimming pools while firefighters doused blazing homes in San Juan Capistrano in Orange County. Some homeowners sprayed water on their properties before heeding evacuation orders.
Two firefighters were taken to the hospital with heat-related injuries, officials said. Authorities have not said how the blaze, which was less than a square mile as of Friday evening, started.
“Had these winds been a little bit stronger, a little bit different direction, this could have been a whole lot worse," said San Clemente Mayor Rick Loeffler.
Howard Hart, a councilmember for San Juan Capistrano, said he and his wife doused their roof with water and moved propane tanks away from their home before they evacuated Friday with a to-go bag.
Laura Hart hasn’t had to evacuate due to fire in the more than five decades she’s lived in the community, she said.
“This doesn’t usually happen to us, we usually see it on the news,” she said. “We always pray to God it’s not us, but yeah, it was today.”
The Norte fire started in the coastal city of San Clemente, and wind drove it into San Juan Capistrano. An evacuation shelter has opened in each city. By Friday night, about 16,000 residents had been ordered to evacuate, said Fire Chief TJ McGovern, of the Orange County Fire Authority.
It was one of several fires in the region hit by dry, warm gusts known as Santa Anas, which blow from the interior and toward the coast. The strongest winds were expected through Friday afternoon, but conditions that increase the fire risk were expected to last through Saturday night, with a heat advisory in effect until 8 p.m. Saturday on the Orange County and San Diego County coast, the National Weather Service said.
Tens of thousands of people in the state are without power after their electricity was turned off. A separate fire by the Marine Corps base Camp Pendleton shut down for hours a section of Interstate 5 that is a major artery connecting Orange County to San Diego. That added hours to commutes throughout Southern California.
The coastal cities are surrounded by hillsides. San Juan Capistrano, a city of 35,000, is known for horse trails and the historic Mission San Juan Capistrano. San Clemente, which is home to 62,000 people, is known as a “Spanish village by the sea” and popular with beachgoers and surfers.
“The fire is right up on the city,” said Victor Cabral, a San Clemente Council member. “It’s on the perimeter of our homes on the north end.”
Nine schools were also closed Friday in San Juan Capistrano, the Capistrano Unified School District said.
Nearby residents were also on edge as smoke darkened the sky.
Wyoming resident Shannon Needham was visiting her mother at her assisted living facility in Dana Point just north of San Clemente when she learned about the fire.
The facility director told her that two buses would be on standby in case they needed to evacuate, Needham said.
“You could hear the fire trucks, you could hear the helicopters and everything above. And it was so smoky, it was just dark smoke," Needham said.
Some of California’s worst wildfires have been sparked by power equipment, and utilities in recent years have begun proactively shutting off power in dry winds. More than 200,000 customers in California were without electricity as of Friday, according to poweroutage.com.
The weather service also issued a red flag warning for parts of central and Northern California through Friday morning, saying any fires would spread rapidly.
Rodriguez reported from San Francisco. Associated Press writer Jaimie Ding contributed from Los Angeles.
A firefighter stands on the roof of his engine as he prepares to leave the Norte Fire on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, in San Juan Capistrano, Calif. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)
Crews hose down properties burned by the Norte Fire on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, in San Juan Capistrano, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A roof engulfed in flames is seen during the Norte Fire on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, in San Juan Capistrano, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Resident Ephraim Taylor, grabs a garden hose in an effort to help with a wildfire spreading in his neighborhood, during the Norte Fire on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, in San Juan Capistrano, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A firefighters works to douse a fire on the roof of a house engulfed in flames during the Norte Fire on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, in San Juan Capistrano, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Firefighters work to douse a fire on house in flames during the Norte Fire on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, in San Juan Capistrano, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
The sun is obscured by smoke as firefighters work to save structures on Via La Mirada during the Norte fire in San Clemente, Calif., on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. (Paul Bersebach/The Orange County Register via AP)
Firefighters work to save structures on Via La Mirada during the Norte fire in San Clemente, Calif., on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. (Paul Bersebach/The Orange County Register via AP)
The Bryson Fire illuminates a ridge top on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Crews make a stand in front of the Bryson Fire on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Crews make a stand in front of the Bryson Fire on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A tanker drops retardant on the Peak Fire Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, in Azusa, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Hot spots glow across a hillside during the Bryson Fire in Malibu, Calif., Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
