Real Madrid lost its appeal against UEFA at sports' highest court after being fined for fans singing an anti-gay chant at Pep Guardiola during a Champions League game against Manchester City.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport's judges decided the chant "was of a severe discriminatory nature... to be considered as far more serious and damaging than acceptable satire and banter."
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The court's detailed verdict has now been published to explain the appeal dismissal by three judges dated April 14. Madrid had challenged a fine of €30,000 ($35,000) and a two-year probation order to close a small section of its stadium at one Champions League game.
When Madrid hosted Man City in February last year, some of its fans chanted that Guardiola was thin, took drugs and would be seen in the Spanish capital's most gay-friendly neighborhood. An expert witness at court linked this to suggesting the former Barcelona coach was "infected with HIV/AIDS," the verdict stated.
Madrid's lawyers suggested "expressions that are humorous, exaggerated or aimed at powerful institutions or public figures" should be analyzed in context.
Pep Guardiola was subject to abuse from Real Madrid fans during Manchester City's Champions League game at the Bernabeu in February 2025. Manu Reino/DeFodi Images via Getty Images UEFA lawyers argued to CAS that anti-gay abuse has "cast a long and deeply troubling shadow" over soccer.
"For decades, the sport has been marred by a culture of machismo, exclusion, prejudice, and hostility towards individuals based on their sexual orientation," the European soccer body's lawyers said.
"This persistent intolerance has impacted the personal and professional lives of countless players, coaches and fans and also led to tragic outcomes in the past," UEFA said in the judges' 38-page summary.
The appeal hearing was held in Lausanne, Switzerland, last September while Madrid and UEFA were still in a years-long legal dispute over the failed Super League launch. One month later, Madrid said it would seek "substantial damages" from UEFA.
UEFA lawyers argued in Lausanne, the judges wrote, that Madrid "should be the first fighting against those chants, instead of hiring high profile lawyers to file an appeal with the CAS."