A video of racist chants by Argentinian national team players about the French national team has caused outrage. Now there are first consequences.
Chelsea FC has initiated disciplinary proceedings against its midfielder Enzo Fernández. The 23-year-old had shared a video in which racist chants about the French national soccer team can be heard. His English employer from London condemned discriminatory behavior in any form in a statement. Soccer’s world governing body FIFA also announced an investigation into the incident.
Philippe Diallo, President of the French Football Federation (FFF), had previously announced that he would lodge a complaint with FIFA due to racist and discriminatory comments made by Argentinian national players. Diallo was referring to a song sung by players of the Argentinian national team after their 1:0 victory against Colombia at the Copa América on Sunday and circulated in a video on social networks.
The video, which Premier League professional Fernández posted on Instagram, shows Argentinian players singing derogatory lyrics about French players of African descent on a bus after the final victory. French defender Wesley Fofana, who is also under contract with Chelsea, posted the video on his social media accounts and described it as “unrestrained racism”.
Public apology from Fernandez
Fernández later deleted his video and apologized in an Instagram story on Wednesday. “The song contains extremely offensive language and there is absolutely no excuse for those words,” the 23-year-old wrote. “I am against discrimination in any form and I apologize for getting carried away by the euphoria of our Copa América celebration. This video, this moment, these words do not reflect my beliefs or my character. I am truly sorry.”
The French Football Federation had previously announced: “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 strongly condemned the unacceptable racist and discriminatory remarks against the French national team players.
French Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra wrote on X: “Pathetic. Behavior that is all the more unacceptable when it is repeated.”
Similar incident during Argentina’s World Cup triumph
Before the World Cup final in Qatar between France and Argentina two years ago, some Argentinian fans had already started the same chants, as the AP news agency reported. FIFA President Gianni Infantino had declared that soccer and its 211 national associations must pursue a zero-tolerance policy towards racism and promised in May to reinstate 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.