Argentina fired their deputy sports minister for suggesting that Lionel Messi should apologize for his teammates singing a racist and homophobic song aimed at France after their Copa America victory on Sunday.
Following a lackluster 1-0 win over Colombia in the 2024 Copa America final, midfielder Enzo Fernandez livestreamed himself and teammates singing the discriminatory song on the team bus. Amid the backlash, under-secretary of sport Julio Garro spoke on the issue, a decision that would backfire right away.
Garro appeared on radio station Urbana Play and suggested the Argentine captain apologize for his team’s actions. Hours later, he was sacked by Argentina’s right-wing president Javier Milei.
‘The Office of the President states that no government has the right to tell the Argentine national team, world champions and double Copa America champions, or any other citizen, what to comment, what to think and what to do,’ Milei’s official social media accounts stated.
‘That is why Julio Garro ceases to be the under-secretary of sport.’
Garro responded to the video by saying: ‘I think [Messi] should come out and offer the appropriate apologies, as should the Argentine Football Federation president [Claudio Tapia].’
He added that the incident ‘leaves Argentina looking bad as a country’ and that it would be good to ‘make an example out of this’.
The song being sang in the video mocked France’s players for their African heritage. After the immediate adverse reaction from fans, Fernandez issued an apology on social media.
‘I want to apologize sincerely for a video posted on my Instagram channel during the national team celebrations,’ he wrote. ‘The song includes highly offensive language and there is absolutely no excuse for these words,’ Fernandez continued. ‘I stand against discrimination in all forms and apologize 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.’
Nevertheless, Fernandez’s teammates in Chelsea were not thrilled with his actions. The London-based club’s roster has several French players of color including Wesley Fofana, Axel Disasi, Benoit Badiashile, Malo Gusto, Lesley Ugochukwu, and Christopher Nkunku.
The London-based club are investigating the controversial footage which appeared to show Argentina players singing about how French players are ‘from Angola’ or have a ‘Nigerian’ mother and a ‘Cameroonian’ father.
Fofana, who is French and has a father from Côte d’Ivoire, posted the video to X with the caption: ‘Football in 2024: uninhibited racism’.
https://twitter.com/Wesley_Fofana3/status/1813286455256519160?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1813286455256519160%7Ctwgr%5E7cce17efcd6aabfb287c922435dd0bbc97cd4906%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailymail.co.uk%2Fsport%2Ffootball%2Farticle-13647579%2Fargentina-minister-julio-garro-fired-lionel-messi-apology.html
In the days since the video went live, Fofana, Disasi, and Gusto have all unfollowed Fernandez on social media. FIFA have also launched an investigation after a complaint from the French FA and sport minister.
On the other hand, Argentina’s vice-president, Victoria Villarruel, defended Fernandez on X and labelled France a ‘colonialist’ nation.
‘No colonialist country is going to intimidate us for a song on the pitch or for telling the truths they don’t want to admit,’ Villarruel wrote.
‘Argentina is a sovereign and free country. We never had colonies or second-class citizens. We have never imposed our way of life on anyone.
Source: dailymail.co.uk
