Several countries, players fined by FIFA

Chile, Argentina and several other countries and players were fined by the International Federation of Football Association (FIFA) when the world football governing body published the sanctions imposed by its Disciplinary Committee for incidents that took place during the preliminary competition for the FIFA World Cup 2026 on Wednesday, reported Xinhua.

Chile was fined 130,000 Swiss francs (about 152,695 U.S. dollars) for a delayed kick-off and discriminatory behavior by supporters in FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers against Colombia on September 12, and against Peru on October 12.

FIFA's Disciplinary Committee decided 80,000 Swiss francs of the fine will be invested in a plan against discrimination, and 50,000 Swiss francs will be suspended for a probationary period of six months and is the subject to the execution of the above investment.

Chile is also punished to have one match with a limited number of spectators, which means at least half of the available seats will be closed.

FIFA also fined Chile 5,000 Swiss francs for five individual sanctions in its game against Uruguay on September 8, and gave it a warning for another delayed kick-off in the game against Paraguay on November 16.

For the same reasons of a delayed kick-off and discriminatory behavior of supporters, as well as an invasion of the field, world champion Argentina was fined 100,000 Swiss francs and given one game of limited audience size for the qualifier against Ecuador on September 7, and against Uruguay on November 16.

Argentina also received another fine of 20,000 Swiss francs for "lack of order or discipline in or around the stadium" in the game against Brazil on November 22, FIFA announced.

A total of 26 countries and regions from South America, Asia and Africa were fined or warned by FIFA in this overview, and another 10 individual players were fined 5,000 Swiss francs each and suspended one or two games for their misconducts during the qualifiers.

"FIFA's Disciplinary Committee takes decisions based on the specific circumstances of each case. Some decisions may be subject to appeal," FIFA said.