Just over two years ago, Argentinian fans sang songs in which they discriminated against French players of African origin. Now Argentinian players have probably also joined in the abusive chants.
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- After their 1:0 win against Colombia on Sunday at the Copa America, players of the Argentinian national team shook their heads with a song.
- A video posted on Instagram by Enzo Fernández shows Argentinian players singing derogatory lyrics about French players of African descent on a bus after their victory in the final.
- The reactions were not long in coming. The French Football Association intends to lodge a complaint with FIFA for racist and discriminatory remarks.
The French Football Association intends to lodge a complaint with FIFA over racist and discriminatory comments made by Argentinian national team players. This was announced by President Philippe Diallo. He was referring to a song that was sung by players of the Argentinian national team after their 1:0 victory against Colombia at the Copa America on Sunday and circulated in a video on social networks.
The video, posted on Instagram by Argentinian midfielder Enzo Fernández, shows Argentinian players singing derogatory lyrics about French players of African descent on a bus after the final victory. French defender Wesley Fofana reportedly posted the video on his social media accounts and described it as "unrestrained racism".
The French Football Federation stated: "Given the seriousness of these shocking statements, which are contrary to the values of sport and human rights, the President of the FFF has decided to address his Argentinian colleague and FIFA directly." Diallo condemns in the strongest terms the unacceptable racist and discriminatory remarks made against the players of the French national team.
Fernández apologizes
French Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra wrote on X: "Pathetic. Behavior that is all the more unacceptable when it is repeated."
Fernández later expressed his remorse on social media: "I would like to sincerely apologize for a video I posted on my Instagram channel during the national team celebrations. The song contains highly offensive words for which there is absolutely no excuse. I am against any form of discrimination and I apologize for getting caught up in the euphoria of our Copa America celebrations. This video, this moment, these words do not reflect my beliefs or my character. I am truly sorry."
Before the World Cup final in Qatar between France and Argentina two years ago, some Argentinian fans had already started the same chants, as AP further reported. FIFA President Gianni Infantino had declared that football and its 211 national associations must pursue a zero-tolerance policy towards racism and pledged in May to re-establish a task force to monitor such incidents.
The final match between Argentina and Colombia on Sunday was accompanied by chaotic conditions. The match could only be kicked off almost 90 minutes later because fans without tickets tried to get into the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
