The French Football Federation (FFF) says it will file a legal complaint over an “unacceptable, racist and discriminatory” chant by Argentina players following their Copa America success on Sunday night.
The FFF added that its president, Philippe Diallo, has challenged his FIFA and Argentine Football Federation colleagues – Gianni Infantino and Claudio Fabian Tapia respectively – to respond to the “shocking comments, which are contrary to the values of sport and human rights”.
Argentina successfully defended their Copa America title by beating Colombia 1-0 in Sunday’s final, thanks to a goal from Lautaro Martinez in extra time. Footage posted to Argentina’s Instagram account after the final showed him and his teammates chanting about the French international team.
Argentina defeated France on penalties in the 2022 World Cup final. Some fans from the South American country sang a song before the match pointing out how many French players were of African descent and first- or second-generation immigrants to the country.
The lyrics of the chant were: “They play for France, but their parents are from Angola. Their mother is from Cameroon, while their father is from Nigeria. But their passports say French.”
Philippe Diallo, President of FFF (Pat Batard/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images)
“The president of the French Football Federation, Philippe Diallo, condemns in the strongest terms the unacceptable racist and discriminatory comments made against the players of the French team in the context of a song sung by players and supporters of the Argentine team after the victory in the Copa America and broadcast in a video on social media,” a statement from the FFF said on Tuesday.
“Given the seriousness of these shocking comments, which are contrary to the values of sport and human rights, the President of the FFF has decided to directly denounce his Argentine counterpart and FIFA and to file a legal complaint for offensive comments of a racial and discriminatory nature.”
FIFA, the AFA and CONMEBOL, the South American football association that organises the Copa America, did not respond when asked for comment by The Athletics.
Fernandez, the 23-year-old Chelsea player, shared a live video on Instagram in which he and several of his teammates, who could not be identified in the footage, began the chant before the live video abruptly ended. Chelsea said they were investigating the matter.
Defender Wesley Fofana posted a video of the incident on X with the caption: “Football in 2024: rampant racism”.
After the chants were heard at the 2022 World Cup, anti-racism group SOS Racisme described the sentiment that some players on the French national team would not be considered French because they were an “expression of a far-right ideology.” The organization called on FIFA to take action against the Argentine fans who sang the chants.
Additional reporting: Melanie Anzidei
(Top photo: Peter Byrne/PA Images via Getty Images)