Mexican Football Body Creates Anti-Harassment Policy

The Mexican Football Federation and Liga MX league announced on Monday the creation of a new set of guidelines to prevent and punish sexual harassment and other discrimination in football, reports AFP.

"We are presenting a document that will be a roadmap when we talk about non-negotiable concepts on a day-to-day basis such as respect, tolerance and inclusion," said Mikel Arriola, president of Liga MX.

The FMF and Liga MX urged the top division's 18 teams to adopt the protocol within six months.

The code of conduct specifically prohibits sexual harassment and the harassment of women and people from the LGBTQ community, who are often targets of abuse.

The new protocol identifies three different types of sexual and other harassment: physical, including unwanted kisses and touching; verbal, including offensive comments or jokes; and non-verbal, which concerns whistling, leering and inappropriate behavior on social media.

To comply with the code of conduct, each club must create a gender and diversity commission, ideally led by a woman.