Argentina player apologizes for ‘highly offensive’ chant about French team (2024)

“The song includes highly offensive language and there is absolutely no excuse for these words,” Fernández wrote (via ESPN). “I stand against discrimination in all forms and apologise for getting caught up in the euphoria of our Copa America celebrations.”

“That video, that moment, those words,” he continued, “do not reflect my beliefs or my character.”

Earlier Tuesday, the French Football Federation said in a statement that its president contacted FIFA, soccer’s international governing body, and intended to lodge a legal complaint. FFF President Philippe Diallo, the federation said, “condemns in the strongest terms the unacceptable racist and discriminatory remarks that were made against the players of the French team during a song sung by players and supporters of the Argentine team after its victory in the Copa America.”

Also reacting strongly Tuesday to the video was Wesley Fofana, a defender on the French national team who has parental ties to the Ivory Coast and is a teammate of Fernández’s at English Premier League club Chelsea.

“Football in 2024: uninhibited racism,” Fofana wrote in French on social media, adding a face-palm emoji.

Chelsea, which acquired Fernández from Portuguese club Benfica last year for a record sum of $131 million, announced Wednesday that it had begun “an internal disciplinary procedure,” adding in a statement that it “finds all forms of discriminatory behaviour completely unacceptable. We are proud to be a diverse, inclusive club where people from all cultures, communities and identities feel welcome. We acknowledge and appreciate our player’s public apology and will use this as an opportunity to educate.”

The fallout from the video is the latest controversy to emanate from Copa América, which ended Sunday with Argentina notching a 1-0 extra-time victory over Colombia in the final played in Miami Gardens, Fla. That match was delayed for almost 90 minutes after fans, some without tickets but hoping to attend the game at Hard Rock Stadium, rushed to the gates and overwhelmed arena staffers. Gates were closed for a period while stadium and tournament officials, as well as police, struggled to handle the chaotic scene. Miami-Dade police said Monday that law enforcement officers made 27 arrests and ejected 55 people.

Among those arrested at the stadium was the head of Colombia’s soccer federation, Ramón Jesurún, who was taken into custody after the match ended. Jesurún, 71, and his son were accused of physically assaulting several event staffers who were said to be temporarily keeping them from heading to the field from a stadium tunnel. The Colombian federation said Tuesday that it and Jesurún regretted the episode.

During the Copa semifinals, players for Uruguay went into the stands at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte to brawl with Colombia fans after the latter nation’s 1-0 victory. CONMEBOL, soccer’s governing body for South America which stages the tournament, responded by saying there is “no place for intolerance and violence on and off the field.”

“Our work is based on the conviction that soccer connects and unites us through its positive values,” CONMEBOL said then.

CONMEBOL did not offer immediate public comment Tuesday on Fernández’s video, nor did FIFA, which in May introduced what it described as a “robust anti-racism” program. Among the proposed measures was for racism to be recognized as a criminal offense in every country. In a June ruling thought to be the first of its kind, three Spanish fans received prison terms for racist heckling of Real Madrid star Vinícius Júnior, a Black Brazilian who has frequently been critical of his treatment in Spain.

The comments heard on Fernández’s video also contained a transphobic element. A version of the chant, delivered by Argentina fans during the 2022 World Cup, appeared aimed at French star Kylian Mbappé.

On Tuesday, the French federation said its president sent a message of complaint directly to “his Argentine counterpart,” as well as to FIFA. The FFF described the words heard in the video as “shocking” and said they were “contrary to the values ​​of sport and human rights.”