Argentina apologizes to France, called “colonialist” by vice-president

Buenos Aires asks for diplomatic forgiveness from Paris. The Argentine government has apologized to France for comments made by Vice President Victoria Villarruel, who called Paris a “colonialist” and the French of“hypocrites”, after the controversy surrounding a racist song sung by players of the Argentine football team.

Karina Milei, secretary of the presidency and sister of President Javier Milei, visited the French embassy in the country’s capital on Thursday, July 18. She explained “that the unfortunate comment made on social media was personal,” presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni said on Friday. “It is not the government’s position to mix sporting passions and diplomatic issues”he added.

Victoria Villarruel posted a message of support on X on Wednesday for international Enzo Fernandez, who has been caught up in controversy for posting a video in which players sing a song containing racist lyrics targeting the Blues. This episode took place on the Argentina team bus, following the victory against Colombia in the Copa America final, Sunday in Miami (1-0).

The controversy comes as President Javier Milei is expected in Paris, at the invitation of the French government, for the opening of the Olympic Games. “Diplomatic relations with France are intact,” the presidential spokesperson was keen to clarify.

The French Football Federation (FFF), for its part, “condemned racist remarks in the strongest terms”, announcing a complaint “for racially offensive and discriminatory remarks”. Seized by the FFF, FIFA also condemned “firmly any form of discrimination from anyone” and said he was examining the comments made by the Argentine players. Faced with the scale of the reactions, Enzo Fernandez apologized “sincerely” Tuesday on his Instagram account. His club Chelsea launched a “disciplinary procedure” against him.