UEFA, FIFA: terrible double standards – severe punishment here, no consequences there

Punishment after punishment: we wrote on Tuesday that the FIFA Disciplinary Committee sentenced the MLSZ with two closed-door matches, meaning that there will be no spectators in two World Cup qualifying clashes. The punishment regarding the second match was suspended for two years. The Hungarian federation was punished by the Disciplinary Committee for what happened at the meeting against England on September 2 at the Puskás Aréna. According to the reasoning, because of racist words, throwing of objects into the playing field, lighting of fireworks in the stadium, and the blocking of the stairways, a fine of 200,000 Swiss francs, or about 65 million forints, must also be paid. The MLSZ reacted and promised to identify and punish the perpetrators: "Punishing a crowd which creates a good atmosphere in a 60,000-capacity stadium and the organizing association, which implements all reasonable measures, is not a fair move, and is instead counterproductive. The need to take action against racism is acknowledged and supported by the MLSZ, but it is also clear that the disciplinary rules and decisions of UEFA and FIFA do not penalize the real perpetrators and are not effective in their current form.”

In June, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) took action against Hungarian football.

They've heard and/or seen that the Hungarian national team's fans were hooting during the national team's European Championship match against Portugal, France, and Germany, disturbing the game with racist slurs and homophobic banners. Therefore, the MLSZ is punished with three closed-door matches (the third is suspended), and was fined for 100,000 euros (about 36 million forints).

Strangely enough, at the European Championship, Cristiano Ronaldo commented on the mentioned Hungary-Portuguese (0–3) game: "I wish the atmosphere could be the same everywhere like in Budapest," referring to the fact that the teams could play in front of a nearly full house at the Puskás Aréna, and the world star did not hear racist, homophobic shouts.

Following the clash against France, Lucas Digne commented on it.

"It was fantastic to see football returning to the stadiums, even if the cacophony made it harder to communicate on the pitch," said the former PSG and FC Barcelona player, who is currently playing for Everton. Did we hear racist comments? Not at all. Paul Pogba and N'Golo Kanté didn't complain about that either."

UEFA got over the fan with a rainbow flag running onto the pitch during the Hungarian national anthem prior to the Germany-Hungary (2-2) European Championship match in Munich with a €8,000 fine. At the England-Germany (2-0) round of 16 match, the German national anthem was followed by a deafening booing in London, while upon the England-Denmark (2–1) semi-final, Danish fans said the English fans insulted and punched some of them – UEFA investigated the latter, and the Football Association was fined €30,000.

Footages have been circulating the world press: hundreds of people without tickets are breaking through the cordons and barging into the Wembley Arena, and after the final, those stranded outside without tickets began to fight with illegal placeholders – these are rarely-seen organizing deficiencies in the Euro finale.

An investigation was launched after the European Championship final on July 11, and no decision has been made yet. Our portal asked UEFA on Wednesday if there was a result of the investigation, and we received “not yet” as the answer.

FIFA presumably based the case on Raheem Sterling after the Hungary-England match (0–4) in Budapest. After his goal, the English player rushed to the cameras to remember his deceased friend, while those behind the goalpost threw cups at him. It wasn't a nice scene, but the French fans threw the same cups at Péter Gulácsi from the same sectors during and after the Hungary-France match (1–1) – no punishment was given at the time, and no investigation was launched.

It is allowed to boo at someone elsewhere.

We can be thrown at.

But we aren't allowed to do that to others.

Translated by Vanda Orosz