The French Football Federation (FFF) Argentina The players Copa America Sunday night success.
FFF president Philippe Diallo said: FIFA Argentina Football Association presidents Gianni Infantino and Claudio Fabian Tapia responded to the “shocking statements that go against the values of sport and human rights.”
Argentina successfully defended their Copa America title. Columbia They won the final on Sunday 1-0. Lautaro Martinez Goal scored in extra time. Footage posted by the Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez A video posted to his Instagram account after the final showed him and his teammates chanting in support of the French national team. The 23-year-old shared a live video on Instagram in which he and several teammates, who cannot be identified in the footage, began chanting before the live video abruptly ended.
Argentina loses France During the penalty shootout of the 2022 World Cup final, some fans of the South American country in that tournament sang a chant before the match, referencing the fact that many of France’s players are of African descent and are first or second generation immigrants to the country.
The chant’s lyrics read: “They play for France but their parents are from Angola, their mothers are from Cameroon and their fathers are from Nigeria, but their passports say French.”
French Defender Wesley FofanaFernandez’s black teammate ChelseaFofana then posted a video of the incident to X with the caption, “Football 2024: Racism unchecked.” Fofana’s message received racist replies from X and other users on Instagram.
Fofana (right) and Fernandes (left) are team-mates at Chelsea (Glyn Kirk/AFP via Getty Images)
Fernandez, 23, responded by posting an apology on social media, acknowledging that “the song contains extremely offensive words and there is absolutely no excuse for these words.”
Chelsea said on Wednesday they “acknowledge and thank the player for his public apology and will use this as an opportunity to enlighten others. The club has begun internal disciplinary procedures.”
The French Football Federation said in a statement on Tuesday: “French Football Federation president Philippe Diallo condemns in the strongest terms the unacceptable racist and discriminatory remarks made against players of the French team in a song sung by players and supporters after the Argentine team’s victory in the Copa America and broadcast in a video on social media.”
“Faced with the gravity of these shocking comments, which go against sporting and human rights values, the FFF President has decided to directly challenge the Argentine President and FIFA and to file a legal complaint against them for what they claim are racist, discriminatory and insulting remarks.”
Philippe Diallo, FFF president (Pat Batal/Hans Lukas/AFP via Getty Images)
On Wednesday morning, a FIFA spokesman said: “FIFA is aware of the video circulating on social media and is investigating the incident. FIFA strongly condemns any discrimination by anyone, including players, fans or officials.”
The AFA and CONMEBOL, the South American football confederation that organises the Copa America, did not respond to requests for comment. Athletic.
After the chant was heard at the 2022 World Cup, anti-racism group SOS Racisme said the sentiment that some French players were not considered French was an “expression of far-right ideology” and called on FIFA to take action against Argentine fans who were singing the chant.
Additional reporting by Melanie Angiday
(Top photo: Peter Byrne/PA Images via Getty Images)
