Real Madrid loses case at CAS over fans blasting Pep Guardiola with homophobic chants

Real Madrid lost its appeal against UEFA at the sport’s highest court after being fined for fans chanting homophobic chants against Pep Guardiola during a Champions League match against Manchester City.

The judges of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled that the chant was “of a seriously discriminatory character… and should be regarded as far more serious and harmful than acceptable satire and banter.”

The court’s detailed judgment has now been published to explain the three-judge dismissal of the appeal, dated April 14. Madrid had challenged a 30,000 euro ($35,000) fine and two-year probation order for closing a small part of the stadium during one Champions League match.

When Madrid hosted Man City in February last year, some fans chanted that Guardiola was thin, on drugs and would be seen in the Spanish capital’s most gay-friendly area. An expert witness at the court linked this to the suggestion that the former Barcelona coach was «infected with HIV/AIDS», the judgment said.

Madrid’s lawyers suggested that «expressions that are humorous, exaggerated or directed at powerful institutions or public figures» should be analyzed in context.

UEFA lawyers argued that CAS homophobia has cast “a long and deeply disturbing shadow” over football.

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“The sport has been marred for decades by a culture of machismo, exclusion, prejudice and hostility towards individuals based on their sexual orientation,” the lawyers for the European football body said.

«This continued intolerance has affected the personal and professional lives of countless players, coaches and fans and has also led to tragic results in the past,» UEFA said in the jury’s 38-page summary.

The appeal hearing was held last September in Lausanne, Switzerland, while Madrid and UEFA were still locked in a years-long legal dispute over the failed launch of the Super League. A 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 to fight these chants instead of hiring high-profile lawyers to appeal to the CAS.”

UEFA noted that the fine amounted to just 0.03 percent of Madrid’s Champions League prize money of more than 100 million euros ($117 million) for that season.

The chant during the second half of Madrid’s 3-1 win in the knockout play-offs second leg last season was filmed in a video later posted on social media.

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The video was sent to UEFA as evidence by the Fare Network, which also works with FIFA at the World Cup to monitor discrimination through chants, symbols and slogans at matches in international competitions.

Lawyers from Madrid said the report by Fare experts “suffers from very serious formal and substantive defects,” according to the ruling.

When UEFA first ruled the case in February 2025, Madrid claimed the chant could have been sung by Manchester City supporters.

Madrid and UEFA settled their separate Super League dispute three months ago, while CAS judges were processing their verdict in the homophobic abuse case.

Before Madrid hosted Man City again in the Champions League in March, club officials reportedly met with fan groups to ensure Guardiola was not the target of abuse.

Published on May 13, 2026