Spain: the racist incident gesture implemented in all competitions by LALIGA and RFEF

"LALIGA, together with the Real Federacion Espanola de Futbol, will incorporate the racist incident gesture that was approved at the last FIFA Congress in Bangkok (THA) on 17/05/2024" in all football competitions in Spain, announced the two bodies on 12/09/2024.

"The protocol of actions against racism, xenophobia and intolerance in football, which has been in place since 2005, is enhanced with this latest specific gesture for cases of racism, and is a step further in the fight against it. This goes from regulations and sanctions to awareness-raising campaigns and education to fight any kind of discrimination," added the two bodies, who are the first of the European Top 5 to implement the gesture, which is incorporated into FIFA's anti-discrimination three-step procedure.

The anti-racism gesture - a cross gesture with the arms - which can be made by a player, the referee or an official, signals racist behaviour to the referee. The referee can then decide to interrupt the match. If the racist behaviour continues after the stadium announcement during the match interruption, the referee…