It’s the top match of the quarter-finals of the Olympic Games, and it pits France against Argentina, for a sort of remake of the 2022 World Cup final. Since that fatal Qatari evening for Didier Deschamps and Kylian Mbappé’s Blues, a real rivalry has been built between the two countries, and the tension has never been greater than this summer.
It all started (again) with this video released by Enzo Fernandez, after the victory of the Albiceleste in the Copa America final. We see several Argentinian players singing a song with lyrics with strong racist connotations against the players of the French team. And this explains why Argentinian athletes are very often whistled at during their events at the Paris Olympic Games.
Violent supporters in Bordeaux?
For this France-Argentina game on Friday night in Bordeaux, Javier Mascherano’s men will not be short of support. According to the Argentinian press, supporters from Boca, River, San Lorenzo, Vélez and Sarmiento will travel to France. They will be present at the “express request from Claudio Tapia”current president of the Argentine Football Federation (AFA), who facilitated their trip.
In this delegation, the Argentinian media mention the presence of “barras bravas”, groups of supporters known to be very violent. We know that Argentinian supporters are crazy about their team, and ready to do anything to defend it. Between the controversy over the chant, and this first sulphurous match against Morocco, with a goal disallowed by the VAR after a two-hour break, the South Americans are heated to white heat. Danger alert?
