The French Soccer Federation released a statement Tuesday condemning “racist and discriminatory remarks” chanted by Argentina soccer players targeting French players that were circulated on social media following Argentina’s Copa América victory.
Argentina defeated Colombia 1-0 in Sunday’s Copa América final. After the win, Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez posted video from the team bus of players reciting a derogatory chant about the French national team that included a transphobic remark and references to players’ African heritage.
French player Wesley Fofana posted video of the incident on social media Tuesday alongside the caption: “Football in 2024: uninhibited racism.” Fofana is Fernandez’s Chelsea teammate. Chelsea has launched an investigation into the video, according to multiple reports.
A version of the chant initially surfaced in 2022 from Argentina fans during the World Cup in Qatar and targeted star forward Kylian Mbappé. Argentina defeated France in the World Cup final that year.
The French Soccer Federation on Tuesday announced its intent to file a legal complaint and appeal to FIFA for the remarks recited by Argentinian players.
“The President of the French Football Federation, Philippe Diallo, condemns in the strongest terms the unacceptable racist and discriminatory remarks that were made against the players of the French team during a song sung by players and supporters of the Argentine team after its victory in the Copa America and broadcast in a video on social networks,” the statement reads.
“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 appeal to his Argentinian counterpart and FIFA and to file a legal complaint for racially offensive and discriminatory remarks.”
Argentina did not respond to France’s statement as of Tuesday afternoon.
Racism in soccer
Instances of racism have plagued soccer around the world and been exacerbated in recent weeks.
The U.S. men’s national team denounced a spate of racist online comments from fans targeting players following the team’s upset loss to Panama in Copa América play in June.
South Korea‘s Hwang Hee-chan of the Premier League’s Wolverhampton Wanderers said he was racially abused by opposing players during a recent friendly with Italy‘s Como 1907. Wolverhampton has filed a formal complaint with UEFA over the incident.
Real Madrid‘s Vinicius Jr. has been a frequent target of racist abuse by opposing fans. Three Spanish fans were recently found guilty of criminal racist behavior targeting Vinicius by the Magistrate’s Court of Valencia in an unprecedented ruling.
