FIFA's appeal committee has told the Spanish Football Federation its appeal has been thrown out, bringing to a close the case over incidents at the Spain-Egypt friendly in Barcelona on 31 March.
The original sanction therefore stands. Spain must pay a fine of 20,000 US dollars and close at least 15% of the stadium's capacity for the senior men's team's next home friendly, according to Spanish newspaper "Marca".
Around ten minutes into a game that finished goalless, a group of Spain supporters began chanting anti-Muslim slogans, among them "whoever doesn't jump is a Muslim". The chants started up again at the beginning of the second half.
Spain's federation stuck to the same line at every stage of the disciplinary process, arguing it had acted immediately, firmly and effectively the moment the incident was spotted. Its monitoring systems picked up the behaviour straight away. Officials alerted the referee, reinforced security in the area, broadcast warnings over the internal PA system and on the stadium's colour screens, and worked with the competent authorities to identify those responsible. Those measures stopped the chants from returning, and supporters in the stands widely rejected and condemned them.
Spanish officials believe the confirmed punishment is a severe one, especially when set against previous decisions handed down by FIFA's own bodies, where more serious cases and cases involving disciplinary precedents brought no automatic closure of stands. The federation has announced it is now preparing a formal appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.