The French Football Federation said it will file a legal complaint over “unacceptable, racist and discriminatory” chants by Argentina players after their Copa America win on Sunday night.
The French federation added that its president, Philippe Diallo, had challenged his counterparts at FIFA and the Argentine Football Association – Gianni Infantino and Claudio Fabian Tapia respectively – to respond to “shocking statements that contradict the values of sport and human rights”.
Argentina successfully defended their Copa America title by beating Colombia 1-0 in Sunday’s final, courtesy of an extra-time goal from Lautaro Martinez. Footage posted to Instagram by Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez following the final showed him and his teammates cheering for France. The 23-year-old was sharing a live video on Instagram in which he and a number of teammates, who were not identified in the footage, began chanting before the live video suddenly stopped.
Argentina defeated France on penalties in the 2022 World Cup final, with some fans of the South American country at that tournament singing a chant before the match suggesting that many of France’s players were of African descent and were first or second generation immigrants to the country.
The chant was: “They play for France, but their parents are from Angola. Their mother is from Cameroon, while their father is from Nigeria. But their passports are signed by the French.”
French defender Wesley Fofana, a black teammate of Fernandes’s at Chelsea, posted a video of the incident on X with the caption: “Football in 2024: Racism unchecked.” Fofana’s message was met with racist responses from other users on X and Instagram.
Fofana (right) and Fernandes (left) are Chelsea team-mates (Glenn Kirk/AFP via Getty Images)
Following this, Fernandez, 23, posted an apology on social media, admitting that “the song contains extremely offensive language and there is absolutely no excuse for these lyrics.”
Chelsea said on Wednesday it “acknowledges and appreciates the public apology made by our player and will use this as an opportunity to educate the public. The club has initiated internal disciplinary proceedings.”
Earlier on Tuesday, the French Football Federation said in a statement: “The president of the French Football Federation, Philippe Diallo, condemns in the strongest terms the unacceptable racist and discriminatory statements made against the players of the French national team in the context of a song sung by the players and supporters of the Argentine national team after their victory in the Copa America and broadcast in a video on social media.
“Given the gravity of these shocking statements, which contradict the values of sport and human rights, the President of the French Football Federation has decided to directly challenge his Argentine counterpart and FIFA and file a legal complaint due to his offensive statements of a racist and discriminatory nature.”
Philippe Diallo, president of the French Football Federation (BATARD/HANS LUCAS/AFP via Getty Images)
On Wednesday morning, a FIFA spokesperson said: “FIFA is aware of a video circulating on social media and is investigating the incident. FIFA strongly condemns any form of discrimination by anyone, including players, fans and officials.”
The Argentine Football Association and the South American Football Confederation, which organizes the Copa America, did not respond when asked for comment. The athlete.
After hearing the chants at the 2022 World Cup, anti-racism group SOS Racisme described the feeling that some French players would not be considered French as an “expression of far-right ideology” and asked FIFA to take action against Argentine fans who were chanting the chants.
Additional reporting: Melanie Anzidi
(Top photo: Peter Byrne/PA Images via Getty Images)
