Argentina fans and players were very happy this past weekend as the national team won another Copa America trophy under Lionel Scaloni. Lionel Messi lifted the trophy with the team once again, and the celebrations followed. The Argentina players were very happy after the game, but an incident occurred that caused lots of controversy.
Enzo Fernandez and a couple of Argentina players were celebrating that Copa America win by singing a racist France chant from the 2022 World Cup. The Chelsea midfielder was recording himself on an Instagram live and now has faced lots of backlash. The midfielder is accused of being a racist, and now many football fans have shamed him, including a couple of Chelsea players who are French.
Lionel Messi and a few other players were not in the bus during the controversial chants, but the Inter Miami star will need to do something about it. According to Metro, a member of Argentina's government wants Messi to issue an apology after Fernandez’s video.
Fernandez published an apology on his Instagram story about the incident. He wrote, “I want to apologise sincerely for a video posted on my Instagram channel during the national team celebrations.”
“The song includes highly offensive language and there is absolutely no excuse for these words. I stand against discrimination in all forms and apologise for getting caught up in the euphoria of our Copa America celebrations. That video, that moment, those words, do not reflect my beliefs or my character. I am truly sorry.”
The controversial chant says the following: They play for France but they are from Angola, His mother is Nigerian, His father Cameroonian, But on the passport : French.” This chant was heard in the last 10 seconds of the clip.
One teammate Enzo Fernandez had in Chelsea that was not happy about the video was Wesley Fofana. On his X account, he reposted the video of Fernandez and the Argentina players singing the chant. Fofana wrote, “Football in 2024: uninhibited racism.” Fofana has since unfollowed Fernandez on his Instagram, along with other French players. Unfortunately, Fofana is now receiving many racist comments and abuse on social media after calling out the racism in Argentina’s chants against France.
Chelsea released a statement regarding the controversial Fernandez video. The Premier League club wrote, “Chelsea Football Club finds all forms of discriminatory behavior completely unacceptable. We are proud to be a diverse, inclusive club where people from all cultures, communities, and identities feel welcome. We acknowledge and appreciate our player’s public apology and will use this as an opportunity to educate.”
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