Sanction for Athletic for Insults to Barcelona: The Price of Chants in San Mamés

The Disciplinary Committee of the Royal Spanish Football Federation has imposed a sanction on Athletic Club. The reason? The repeated chants with insults that were heard during the match played by the Lions against FC Barcelona (0-3), valid for matchday 38 of LaLiga EA Sports 2024/25.

This was the first culé visit to Basque territory after the interest of Barça in signing Nico Williams became known, an issue that, although it did not materialize, became a real soap opera that raised the tension between both teams.

The fine arises after the assessment made by the Appeals Committee and the TAD, which consider that chants such as "f*cking Barça" should be understood as "expressions of hatred that incite violence". These are not mere expressions of disapproval or sports rivalry, but phrases that, due to their literalness and semantic load, go beyond criticism, placing themselves in the field of violent incitement and direct rejection of certain groups.

Economic Sanction for Athletic for Offensive Chants in LaLiga

This measure implies an economic fine for the Bilbao team of €9,000. The team itself made the sanction public, recalling that "respect must be one of the fundamental principles of animation, avoiding acts that damage the image of Athletic and cause economic damage to the entity."

Now it will be necessary to observe how the behavior of the Lions fans evolves during the next visit of Barcelona to San Mamés, tentatively scheduled between March 7 and 8, 2026, on matchday 27 of LaLiga EA Sports 2025/26. The tension has not yet dissipated, especially after the new summer soap opera surrounding Nico Williams, who was close to joining Barça, but ended up renewing with the Basque team until 2035, after a series of statements and gestures that further raised the level of controversy.

History of Sanctions for Athletic for the Behavior of its Fans

As AS recalls, the UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Committee already fined Athletic €50,000 for various infractions during the semifinals of the Europa League 2024/25 against Manchester United, both in the first leg and in the second leg.

Previously, after the match against AS Roma in San Mamés, the Basque team paid €34,000 for similar inconveniences. In February, the general manager, Jon Berasategi, revealed that up to that moment the season had accumulated infractions worth €25,000 due to offensive chants in the stadium. In total, the sum exceeds €110,000, to which the new sanctions imposed on the Bilbao team are now added.