The Copa America champion Argentina’s players were caught using racist chants, which prompted the French Football Federation (FFF) to announce on Tuesday that it will file a complaint with FIFA and pursue legal action.
“Condemned with the greatest firmness the unacceptable racist and discriminatory remarks made against players of the France team,” stated FFF President Philippe Diallo.
Following Sunday’s Copa triumph against Colombia in Miami, Chelsea and Argentina player Enzo Fernandez captured the shouts on camera while on the team bus and shared it on social media.
A chant from Argentina’s victory against France in the 2022 World Cup final is sung by a few players, notably Fernandez.
The song contains homophobic remarks and criticizes Kylian Mbappe, the star striker for France.
“Faced with the seriousness of these shocking remarks, contrary to the values of sport and human rights, the president of the FFF decided to directly challenge his Argentine counterpart and FIFA and to file a legal complaint for racial and discriminatory offensive remarks,” an FFF statement read.
Wesley Fofana, Fernandez’s Chelsea teammate, criticized the video on social media.
“Football in 2024: racism without a complex,” the French international said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
FIFA, the organization that oversees international football, was also urged to intervene by French Minister of Sports Amelie Oudea-Castera. Horrible. Repeated behavior makes it even more inappropriate, according to Oudea-Castera’s post on X.
Since Argentina’s last-round World Cup defeat to eventual champions France, the two countries have maintained a fierce rivalry. The FFF also brought a complaint against racial remarks on social media two years ago.
