Mexico unleashes a new plan to stop anti-gay chant at World Cup matches

With 2026 World Cup matches in Mexico City less than a month away, there’s a sense of anticipation in the air for soccer enthusiasts around the globe to behold the passion and energy of Team Mexico’s fans.

Alas, it’s tempered by a concurrent sense of dread as the repulsive “puto” chant has once again made its presence felt at several recent matches hosted by Mexico.

In an attempt to get out in front of the problem and encourage a more positive direction for fan energy, the Mexican Soccer Federation unveiled a new promotional campaign centered around the slogan: La Ola Sí, El Grito No.

Get off the sidelines and into the game

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Translated: The Wave Yes, The Chant No.

Yes, the Mexican Federation is encouraging fans to start as many rounds of the wave as possible with the hope that it will overpower others trying to chant “puto.”

The idea apparently being that if you’re repeatedly leaping out of your seat and thrusting your arms to the sky while howling your lungs out, it’s next to impossible to form those unintelligible screams into homophobic syllables.

If this works, it will mark a major milestone in sports history: an appearance of the wave that will make no one roll their eyes.

This new campaign references the wave’s importance in Mexican soccer culture. According to the AP’s Carlos Rodriguez, when Mexico last hosted the World Cup in 1986, the wave became such a prominent part of the tournament that it colloquially became known as “the Mexican wave.”

As part of the promotional drive, several members of the 1986 Team Mexico club recorded their memories of that tournament for La Ola Sí, El Grito No promotional videos on the Federation’s YouTube channel.

In these PSAs, classic footage of Mexico fans doing the wave was interspersed with players like Felix Cruz recalling how a referee halted a match to watch as it worked its way around the stadium and Mario Trejo imploring present day crowds to bring similar support and energy.

At no point did any of the 1986 legends mention the puto chant or ask fans to stop it. In fact, it wasn’t even referenced until a “Ola Sí, Grito No” graphic at the very end.

Mexico emphasizes positive action from fans, not ‘puto’

It appears the Mexican Federation is going all out to emphasize positive fan energy and avoid mentioning the homophobic chant.

While it certainly would be admirable if that was effective, the fact remains that after it appeared to taper off in recent years, the puto chant was revived again at multiple matches at Azteca Stadium this spring.

Ignoring it and hoping it will go away is likely not going to work. 

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LGBTQ Mexico fans expect homophobia at World Cup as anti-gay chant heard again
USA’s Matt Turner was targeted during Tuesday’s friendly in Guadalajara. Campaigners say the “long fight” against the slur continues.

Mexican LGBTQ sports advocates would probably agree. Two years ago, DIDESEX Director General Rafael Villanueva wrote, “Will homophobia be present inside stadiums in Mexico in 2026? At this moment, it’s difficult to see how it will not be.” Based on the current trend, his prediction appears very likely to come true.

Nudging the fans to start the wave more often without calling out the hateful chant beyond a brief graphic isn’t going to change that.

Nonetheless, LGBTQ fans will have two major rooting interests at this summer’s World Cup: wins for their country and seeing as many waves as possible in the stands.

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