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On July 15, star midfielder Enzo Fernandez shared an Instagram Live video, showing him and his teammates singing and dancing on the bus to the airport as they prepared to leave the U.S. for Buenos Aires.
The celebration took a dark turn when the players started chanting remarks directly aimed at the players of France national football team.
"They play for France, but their parents are from Angola. Their mother is from Cameroon, while their father is from Nigeria. But their passport says French," the chant went.
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Midfielder Enzo Fernandez celebrates after Argentina defeated Colombia 1-0 in the Copa America final in Florida on July 14, 2024. Photo by Reuters |
Fernandez immediately turned off the live video and deleted it, but many people were able to capture it and quickly made it viral on social media. These words are considered racist remarks towards the France national team, with many players originating from other countries. Captain Kylian Mbappe's father is from Cameroon and his mother is from Algeria.
Argentina captain Lionel Messi was not on the bus at that time, because he left the team to return to his home in Florida after the final. During the 2022 World Cup title celebration, when Messi saw Rodrigo de Paul and a few players were planning to do this chant, he told them to stop.
Philippe Diallo, FFF president, expressed his outrage in a statement: "The president of the French Football Federation condemns in the strongest terms the unacceptable racist and discriminatory remarks made against the players of the French team."
The statement affirmed that the remarks were made "in the context of a song sung by players and supporters of the Argentina team after its victory in the Copa America and broadcast in a video on social media."
Diallo also urged FIFA president Gianni Infantino and Argentine Football Association boss Claudio Fabian Tapia to address these "shocking remarks, contrary to the values of sport and human rights."
FFF also filed a legal complaint over the incident.
Nearly two years ago at the 2022 World Cup, FFF also complained to FIFA when a group of Argentine fans sang a similar song to target Kylian Mbappe and his teammates. These two teams met in the final, with Argentina winning on penalties.
France and Argentina have had many conflicts in football since then. After winning the 2022 World Cup, goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez placed his Golden Glove award in front of his genital area as an act of provoking the opponent. During the celebration in the locker room, he said, "Let's have a minute of silence for Mbappe" and received support from his teammates. FFF has also complained to FIFA about this case, but the world football governor has not given a punishment to Martinez.
A screen record of the offensive chant by Argentina players towards France players on July 15, 2024.
