Russia fined by FIFA after fans display neo-Nazi banner at World Cup
FIFA has slapped a fine on Russia’s soccer federation after it was determined Russian fans had displayed a neo-Nazi banner during a World Cup match.
The disciplinary panel of soccer’s governing body has ordered the Russian federation to pay a $10,100 fine over a “discriminatory banner” fans unfurled at Cosmos Arena in Samara during Russia’s 3-0 loss to Uruguay last week. The banner apparently featured the number 88, which is far-right code for “Heil Hitler,” due to H being the eighth letter in the alphabet.
In the build-up to the tournament, there were widespread apprehensions about the host nation, which, in addition to having an institutionalized bias toward the LGBT community, has seen a spike in incidents of discrimination toward ethnic minorities and a rise in nationalism.