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Mexico fined for anti-gay chants at all home World Cup qualifiers

FIFA has once again fined Mexico for anti-gay chants, meaning the country's federation was punished for the same offense in all eight of its home qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup.

The latest $10,000 fine for "improper conduct among spectators (homophobic chants)" against Trinidad and Tobago on Oct. 10 was announced on Monday.

Mexico had previously been fined the same amount in every other home game of the final Hexagonal round. FIFA issued a $20,000 fine for their first World Cup qualifier in the previous round in 2015, then $15,000 for the next, followed by $30,000 in September 2016, when Mexico was also cited for fans' lasers.

Mexico was also fined $20,000 for fans' chants at qualifiers away to Canada and the United States, and $5,000 in Panama.

The final total comes to $160,000 over the entire campaign. FIFA first started investigating the chant after it come to prominence at the 2014 World Cup.

The chant, yelled when the opposing goalkeeper takes a goal kick, is also used throughout Latin America, with Chile also receiving 11 fines, and Argentina, Peru, Brazil, Honduras and Panama commonly punished. Only Honduras and Chile have been punished with stadium bans.

Argentina was fined $40,000 for the chants for their home qualifier last month, while Peru was fined $25,000, Chile $20,000, and Brazil $10,000. Costa Rica was fined $10,000 for non-specific "insulting" chants.

Mexico's federation has made a concerted effort to eradicate the chant this year, encouraging fans not to do it through social campaigns. The PA system in the recent games at Estadio Azteca recently shouted "Mexico" as the opponent's goalkeeper took goal-kicks to try to drown out the chant.

Among other fines announced on Monday, FIFA punished Albania, Armenia, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Egypt, England, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Kosovo, Lithuania, Montenegro, Morocco, Panama, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Switzerland, Ukraine and Uruguay for letting off incendiary devices.

Serbia were by far the most severely punished, getting hit with a $90,000 fine for their fans' behaviour and political banners away to Austria, and another $70,000 for a home game against Georgia.

Both the United States and England received warnings for fans throwing paper airplanes. The England incident against Slovakia went viral when a plane entered the goal at Wembley Stadium.