The International Football Federation (FIFA) on Wednesday launched an investigation into racist chants by Argentine players against the French national team during the celebrations following the victory in the Copa America final played in the United States on Sunday. A video broadcast live by Argentine midfielder Enzo Fernández, who plays for Chelsea, showed Argentines during the celebrations chanting racist chants such as “Run the ball… They play in France, but they are all from Angola.”
“FIFA has been made aware of a video circulating on social media and the incident is the subject of an investigation,” the world football governing body said in a statement, According to the AFP agency“FIFA strongly condemns all forms of discrimination, regardless of where it comes from, including against players, fans and those in charge,” he added.
It was precisely one of Fernández’s teammates at Chelsea, the Frenchman Wesley Fofana, who was one of the first to repudiate the hate message, calling it “uninhibited racism.” Enzo Fernández then took to his social networks to offer an apology in English. “I want to sincerely apologize for a video posted on my Instagram channel during the national team celebrations. The song includes extremely offensive language, and there is absolutely no excuse for those words,” he wrote. “I am against discrimination in all its forms and I apologize for getting carried away by the euphoria of our celebrations at the Copa América. That video, that moment, those words do not reflect my beliefs or my character. I am truly sorry.”
The public apology has been accepted by Chelsea, but it has not been enough to avoid the opening of internal disciplinary proceedings. The English club will analyse what happened and evaluate possible sanctions against the Argentine midfielder.
The harshest condemnation was that of the French Football Federation (FFF). Its president, Philippe Diallo, condemned the “unacceptable racist and discriminatory comments” made by players and supporters of the team led by Lionel Scaloni after their victory over Colombia in the Copa America final. “Given the seriousness of these shocking comments, contrary to the values of sport and human rights, the president of the FFF decided to resort to the courts against his Argentine counterpart (AFA) and FIFA, in addition to filing a complaint for racist and discriminatory comments,” the organization said in a statement.
The controversial chant was created by a group of Argentine fans before the 2022 World Cup final in Qatar against France and had already sparked controversy at the time, during the mass celebrations that followed Lionel Messi’s team’s victory over Kylian Mbappe’s on penalties.
The fact that the Argentines did not learn their lesson at that time prompted a harsh complaint from the French Minister of Sports, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra. “Pathetic. Behaviour that becomes even more unacceptable if it is repeated,” she said on social media. “FIFA: any reaction?” she asked. The highest authority in football acted a few hours later.
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