Russia’s football federation has been fined by FIFA because a fan displayed a neo-Nazi banner at a World Cup game.
FIFA’s disciplinary panel ordered the Russian football body to pay 10,000 Swiss francs for a “discriminatory banner” at the team’s 3-0 loss to Uruguay in Samara.
FIFA and monitoring experts working at World Cup matches said the banner included the number 88, which is recognised as far-right code for “Heil Hitler” because H is the eighth letter of the alphabet.
In a separate case, FIFA fined Serbia’s federation for a second time at the World Cup for fans displaying a Chetnik banner celebrating a World War II nationalist group.
Serbia must pay 20,000 Swiss francs for a disciplinary charge of showing a “political and offensive banner” during the team’s 2-0 loss to Brazil in Moscow on Wednesday.
FIFA invited monitors from the anti-discrimination group Fare to work at World Cup games for the first time.
FIFA said it also warned the Russian and Serbian federations, and also Brazil’s federation for unspecified incidents involving its fans at the same game.
