(Paris) Following racist chants by players of the Argentine team against the Blues, FIFA announced on Wednesday that it was examining these comments made in particular by midfielder Enzo Fernandez, himself the target of disciplinary proceedings launched by his club, Chelsea.
Since Monday evening, a video has been circulating on social networks in which some Argentinian players, including Fernandez, sing a song containing racist lyrics targeting the Blues.
Contacted on Tuesday by the French Football Federation (FFF), FIFA “firmly condemns any form of discrimination on the part of anyone, including players, supporters and officials,” the body wrote in a statement sent to AFP on Wednesday.
In addition, the world soccer organization said it was examining these comments made on the Argentina team bus following the victory against Colombia in the Copa America final on Sunday evening in Miami (1-0).
In the video Fernandez streamed live on Instagram, the players are seen starting the chant before the video cuts off.
On Wednesday, Chelsea, the London club of the Argentinian international, launched a “disciplinary procedure” against him. “We welcome and appreciate the public apology of our player and we will take the opportunity to raise awareness. The club has put in place an internal disciplinary procedure,” explained the London club in a statement.
A video taken “out of context”
Faced with the scale of the reactions, Enzo Fernandez apologized “sincerely” on Tuesday on his Instagram account.
“The song contains very offensive language and there is absolutely no excuse for those words,” he acknowledged. “I am against discrimination in all its forms and I apologize for getting carried away by the euphoria of the Copa America celebrations. That video, that moment, those words do not reflect my beliefs or my character,” he added, saying he was “sincerely sorry.”
Argentine Vice President Victoria Villarruel responded Wednesday by saying that “no colonialist country” will “intimidate” her country “for a song or for telling truths that it does not want to admit.”
“Enough of the feigning outrage, you hypocrites. Enzo, I support you,” she said in a message on the social network X.
Earlier the same day, Javier Mascherano, the coach of the Argentine Olympic team currently preparing in France, assured that this video had been “taken out of context”.
“I know Enzo, he’s a great guy, he doesn’t have problems like that,” Mascherano pleaded. “Often, in the context of a celebration, you can take part of a video and take it out of context,” the technician continued.
He also pleaded “cultural” misunderstanding: “Sometimes you have to understand the culture of each country and sometimes what we perceive as a joke can be misinterpreted elsewhere,” he said.
Argentina’s deputy sports secretary Julio Garro told a local radio station that the video gave “a bad image” of Argentina and that Albiceleste captain Lionel Messi “should also apologize for this matter” alongside Argentine Football Association (AFA) president Claudio Tapa.
However, he later backtracked, writing on X that he “categorically denied asking Messi to apologize.”
“It would be a lack of respect for someone who constantly honours us with his human and sporting qualities,” he added.
On Tuesday, the French Football Federation, which “condemns racist remarks in the strongest possible terms”, announced that it was contacting FIFA and filing a complaint “for insulting remarks of a racial and discriminatory nature”.
The FFF, which had already filed a complaint for racist remarks after the World Cup in 2022, “directly contacted its Argentinian counterpart”.
Some French players also reacted, such as defender Wesley Fofana, Fernandez’s teammate at Chelsea, who reposted the video on his X account, commenting: “Football in 2024: racism without complexes.”
This is also the case for another defender, Jules Koundé, known for his commitments against racism: “Lamentable…”, he commented on the social network.
The words heard on this video had already been chanted by Argentinian supporters against the players of the French team and Kylian Mbappé. This chant had been broadcast live on an Argentinian television channel after the final of the 2022 World Cup won by Argentina against France (3-3 ap, 4 tab to 2).
“They play for France, but they all come from Angola, it’s good, they know how to run, they’re trans like that fucking Mbappé, his mother is Nigerian (Franco-Algerian in reality, Editor’s note), his father is Cameroonian, but on the passport: French” (sic), they sang at the time.
Argentina have had a strong rivalry with France since their elimination in the round of 16 of the 2018 World Cup in Russia, where they were eliminated by Les Bleus (4-3).