This is a new scandal that the world of football could have done without. After winning the 2024 Copa América, Enzo Fernandez filmed himself celebrating on the bus. Festive songs, until the midfielder, accompanied by other Albiceleste players, began to sing the famous song that was born at the 2022 World Cup, evoking the African origins of the French players, and with a few transphobic remarks in passing. Realizing his blunder, the Chelsea player quickly cut his live broadcast, but it was too late.
Obviously, this chant was not well received in the Blues’ locker room, where there are many French players. Wesley Fofana even expressed himself on his social networks: “Football in 2024: racism without complexes”while the FFF published a statement calling for sanctions. At the same time, many Argentinian supporters took the opportunity to insult Wesley Fofana on social networks after the French defender spoke out…
Argentine media pulls players up on their toes
And in Argentina, what do the media think about it? Well, they don’t really defend their player or the rest of the group, and they do mention racist and xenophobic remarks, where some Internet users have tried to take away the importance by mentioning banter and humor. “We see the players start a song that is meant to be festive, but which has the particularity of bringing together, in barely 8 verses, a mixture of racism, xenophobia, homophobia and transphobia”we can read on the general newspaper side Clarinwhere this famous song is clearly condemned. The Nation also evokes “a song with racist connotations against French football players of African descent”.
“At this level of our civilization, we should know what racism is so as not to slip like that. (…) Everyone must know and understand for themselves that folklore has its limits.”we can read in Oléwhere we still welcome Fernandez’s apologies. “Each verse of the song is worse than the last, containing discriminatory messages, and xenophobia, homophobia and transphobia”explains on his side TN. Enzo Fernandez does not really have the support of the media in his country…
