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In Mexican fan football culture, there is perhaps no issue more controversial than that of the ‘Puto’ chant.
It is used almost exclusively when the opposing goalkeeper takes a goal kick, much in the same circumstances as US fans used to chant “You suck asshole” and English fans once chanted the rhythmic tones of “Ahh. You’re shit. Fuck off” as a goalkeeper lined up to take a kick.
The problem with Puto, however, is not that it is vulgar and offensive. Many football chants are.
The issue here is that many, including most of Mexico’s LGBTQ community, consider it to have homophobic overtones, if not be outright and undiluted homophobia.
While the chant is a hot button issue in Mexico, it is even more contentious in the more politically correct United States.
Mexico play a large amount of home matches in the USA. They are organised by Soccer United Marketing (SUM) which is the marketing wing of Major League Soccer (MLS). SUM has sole rights to arrange Mexico ‘home’ games on US soil.
These are well attended and SUM is a major cash cow for MLS as the large amount of Mexicans living in the United States guarantees large and lucrative attendances for these matches.
This probably explains why, despite its self-aggrandising “Don’t Cross the Line Campaign”, which purports to stamp out bigotry at games, MLS has not moved a muscle against the chant at Mexico games under their auspices.
[See: Don’t Cross the Line: The anti-bullying campaign that exempts the powerful]
As with the Old Firm in Scotland, those who wish to carry on chanting what others deem to be inappropriate or offensive, have their arguments well marshaled.
Those wishing to continue the chant somewhat bafflingly don the mantle of victimhood, claiming that the chant is an attempt by white Americans to force their cultural ethics onto Mexican immigrants.
The idea that the 5000 fans chanting an abusive term at one goalkeeper just doing his job are actually being bullied is of course ridiculous, but the argument has never been properly debunked.
However, yesterday a massive change happened in the right direction.
Pancho Viila’s Army (PVA) is the organised Supporter Group for fans of El Tri, the Mexican national side living in the United States.
El Tri refers to the country’s red, white and green tricolor flag. Pancho Villa was a Mexican revolutionary general and one of the most prominent figures of the Mexican Revolution against Spanish rule.
In a groundbreaking press release, the PVA declared that the Puto chant was no longer welcome in their sections of the stadium.
In an article called An Open Letter To Our Members and Supporters | The PVA Section is a NO “PU&$ CHANT” ZONE, PVA leader Sergio states:
“One area where I think we can improve upon is the infamous PU%* Chant.
“For me and many others, it is no longer relevant to debate what the word means or doesn’t mean. Its simply a matter of respect and common courtesy.
“We should do our best to be good guests at all the stadiums that welcome us. As you know, there are many other rules that PVA already follows.
“For example, we do not use smoke in the section without approval, we do not bring poles into the stadium, we do not activate incendiary devices, we do not throw items at security or players on the field.
The PVA open letter makes the new policy clear
“Moving forward, we will adopt a “No Pu%^ Chant” clause into our membership rules and code of conduct. While our code generally covers the chant we will specifically list it as unacceptable conduct. The same clause will be inserted into our ticket purchases pages.
“We already informed all PVA ticket purchasers that our section is a standing, cheering, and singing section. The same page will now inform potential PVA ticket purchasers that our section is a NO PU&% CHANT section too.
“For those of you that have already purchased a ticket for Mexico v. Argentina in San Antonio with PVA and disagree with our position or cannot abide by our request please email us for a full refund.”
The word is already sufficiently offensive among the Mexican-American community that they even feel unable to write it out in full, in the same manner that Americans now say “the N-word” rather than utter a highly offensive term for African-Americans.
(We use it in full here, anticipating that the term will be new to many European readers.)
The move is to be unequivocally applauded and this website is happy to do so.
Gay 4 Soccer founder: The “Puto” chant is unacceptable
PVA have taken on responsibility for what happens in their section. Most fans will remain there for the excellent atmosphere and support they provide during the game.
Initially it is to be hoped that those El Tri fans who don’t comprehend that times are changing, are gently educated and allowed to remain in the PVA section having agreed to desist. Education is better than ejection.
However, those who refuse will have to be asked to leave and co-operation with stewards will be necessary in the initial early stages of the policy.
The question still remains as to what to do about those who simply move elsewhere to continue the chant.
It is here that MLS/SUM must finally put its principles before its profits. The ticket purchase should now clearly state, as the PVA now do, that the chant is unwanted and SUM reserve the right to eject you.
They must employ sufficient stewards for this purpose. Perhaps more importantly, SUM should employ stewards who are sufficiently trained, not just the cheapest they can get as seems to be the case at most SUM games.
Change and progress are rarely smooth and painless.
The PVA leadership will face a backlash which is why websites like Prost Amerika our sister site in North America will unequivocally support them.
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