Arsene Wenger has criticised FIFA's decision to fine Spain for the racist abuse of England players and insisted only a stark threat to ban them from the World Cup would have been an effective deterrent.
FIFA decided against forcing Spain to play an international match behind closed doors when they ruled upon the horrendous abuse directed at England players in last month's friendly in Madrid.
Instead, the Spanish Football Federation were fined just under £45,000, a punishment which was privately met with amazement by senior figures within the
English FA.
The world governing body did accompany the fine with a warning that Spain risked missing out on a FIFA-organised tournament if there was any repeat.
However, Wenger believes that still did not go far enough after the appalling abuse endured by, among others, Arsenal defender Ashley Cole and Manchester City winger Shaun Wright-Phillips.
He said: "I'm a believer that, in sport, the only punishment that really helps is sporting sanctions.
"I'm not a great believer that financial punishment will help to clear away the problem of racism.
"If the Spanish federation were under threat of being out of European competitions, there would be much more incitement for supporters to behave well."
Wenger pointed to the significant decline of hooliganism in England after their clubs were banned from European club competitions, as proof that football problems must solved using football solutions.
"When there was a hooligan problem in England, what you did was to cut them out of the game. That was the right warning as it meant the other people stopped," he said.
The fine handed out to the Spanish FA earlier this week was just three times as much as Wenger must pay for having accused Ruud van Nistelrooy of cheating.
The Arsenal boss added: "If you take my fine as a benchmark, it was too little. But FIFA apply their own rules."
