The 2026 FIFA World Cup is coming to a close, and it has been extremely exciting this year. It has also raised an important question: What responsibilities do FIFA and host nations owe players and supporters?
As an Ecuadorian, I was deeply saddened when Ecuador lost its World Cup Round of 32 match against Mexico, especially after Ecuador’s earlier historic win over Germany. But seeing how Ecuadorian players, journalists and supporters experienced a level of hostility and harassment in Mexico City, I felt outraged.
As a host nation, Mexico had a duty to welcome visiting teams and supporters and to ensure they were treated fairly.
The Ecuadorian Football Federation (FEF) filed a formal complaint with FIFA about the team’s treatment before the match. The off-field incidents began when a three-hour flight from Columbus, Ohio, turned into a nine-hour trip without explanation.
That same day, Ana Valero, a FOX Sports Mexico reporter, shared the location of the hotel where the Ecuadorian team was staying.
Hours later, hundreds of Mexican fans gathered outside the team’s hotel. On the eve of the knockout-round match, they played music, danced, chanted, honked horns, and set off fireworks in an apparent effort to keep Ecuador’s players awake and not sufficiently rested for the game.
The FEF reported this behavior “falls far short of the principles of fair play, equity, and unity that a football World Cup should represent.” Even Mexican journalist Carmen Aristegui criticized these actions, calling the disturbances outside the hotel “fatal,” in “terrible taste,” and a “shame before the world.”
On the day of the match, the Ecuadorian team traveled to the legendary Estadio Azteca under heightened security measures following the disturbances outside the team’s hotel the night before.
One of my close friends attended the match and told me she could not even wear the Ecuadorian shirt because of the harassment she and others experienced. In the stadium, many fans booed Ecuador’s national anthem in a very disrespectful way and sang offensive chants throughout the match while throwing beer, cups, and other objects at Ecuadorian fans.
Ecuadorian journalist José Carlos Crespo was thrown a cup in the face while conducting a live broadcast alongside Alfonso Laso and Gisella Buendía. They had previously warned the police about fans throwing objects toward the press area, but the situation was never contained.
Just days earlier, Ecuador’s supporters filled New York City’s streets with yellow shirts, and the atmosphere was festive, competitive and welcoming. Rival supporters shared public spaces without the intimidation that was later experienced in Mexico City.
What happened to Ecuador was not an isolated incident. Days later, England also received a hostile welcome and experienced similar behavior before their Round of 16 match against Mexico. Mexican fans gathered again outside the visiting team’s hotel with horns, drums and fireworks.
Mexican fans also surrounded England’s team bus, covered its windows with foam and booed in an effort to harass the players as they arrived at the Estadio Azteca. Some England supporters also reported being threatened by Mexican fans during the match.
More broadly, FIFPRO, the global players’ union, has warned of a growing pattern of abuse toward players during this World Cup, saying there has been “intimidation and hostility beyond the pitch,” and that “players shoulder the expectations of a nation, but this must never come at the cost of their safety, dignity or wellbeing, nor should abuse be dismissed as part of the game.”
These incidents reinforce the need for FIFA to take a stronger role in protecting players and supporters throughout the tournament.
For Ecuadorians, these broader concerns became deeply personal. Ecuador’s elimination of the tournament was disappointing, especially because it was the first time in 20 years that Ecuador moved past the group stage in the World Cup, and only the second time in history.
What made the experience truly painful was not the result, as Mexico was a better team and deserved its victory, but rather the hostility, disrespect, and violence that surrounded the match. No visiting team should have to face those conditions at a World Cup—or at any sporting event.
FIFA needs to investigate these incidents and ensure that the World Cup showcases the best of football, not intimidation outside hotels, hostile treatment of visiting supporters, or conditions that undermine fair play. Poor sportsmanship is simply unacceptable.
While host nations enjoy extraordinary advantages, they should also be held to extraordinary standards of hospitality, safety and fairness.
That is worth cheering for, across all nationalities and identities.