Argentina players chant racism and transphobia as FIFA investigates

FIFA has confirmed it is investigating a video showing Argentina players taking part in discriminatory chants — and targeting French star Kylian Mbappe — following their Copa America victory in Miami last weekend.

The video went viral on social media after midfielder Enzo Fernandez had live-streamed himself on the team coach, joining in with a highly offensive song that includes racist and transphobic lyrics.

The song originates from December 2022 and takes aim in vile terms at members of the France national team, who Argentina defeated in the FIFA World Cup final in Qatar.

It was originally sung before that game by Argentinian fans. A strong rivalry developed between the two nations after they had met at the 2018 World Cup in Russia in a round-of-16 tie, which France won, 4-3.

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Les Bleus went on to win that tournament. Four years later, in the final, Argentina exacted revenge with victory on penalties following a 3-3 draw.

The song lyrics, in Spanish, include a line that says French players “are all from Angola” and later, another line that says “their mom is Nigerian, their dad, Cameroonian, their passport says French.”

Another song lyric refers to the players as “cometravas” — a slang term that translates as ‘someone who has sex with transgender people’ — and adds “like Mbappe,” targeting France’s star striker and captain Kylian Mbappe.

The 25-year-old, who scored a hat-trick in that World Cup final a year and a half ago, was previously the subject of tabloid gossip claiming he was in a relationship with French model Ines Rau, who is transgender.

In a statement issued Tuesday, the French Football Federation (FFF) condemned the “unacceptable racist and discriminatory” lyrics of the song. 

The statement said they were “contrary to the values of sport and human rights” and that FFF president Philippe Diallo would be contacting his Argentinian counterpart, Claudio Fabian Tapia, over the matter as well as filing a legal complaint with FIFA.

Later the same day, Fernandez issued an apology via his Instagram account. He posted a statement to his story: “The song includes highly offensive language and there is absolutely no excuse for these words.

“I stand against discrimination in all forms and apologise for getting caught up in the euphoria of our Copa America celebrations.”

Wednesday morning, the player’s club Chelsea said it had begun an internal investigation into the matter, while a FIFA spokesperson confirmed the world governing body was conducting its own probe and “condemns any form of discrimination by anyone including players, fans and officials.”

#UPDATE FIFA said on Wednesday it was opening an investigation into racist chants by Argentina players after they won the Copa America, heard during a live video posted on social media from the team bus https://t.co/MTJOzaSLUF #AFPSports pic.twitter.com/573NLJG02z— AFP News Agency (@AFP) July 17, 2024

At the time of writing, no statement on the matter has been publicly issued by the Argentine Football Association (AFA).

Chelsea’s pre-season schedule is due to include a match on Aug. 7 in Charlotte, NC, against Real Madrid, where Mbappe was unveiled this week as the Spanish giants’ major summer transfer.

The 25-year-old is reportedly receiving a signing-on fee of $163m, to be paid in instalments across his five-year deal, on top of a salary of around $315,000 a week.

Mbappe and Fernandez could feasibly come face to face at that pre-season game, although both players have been handed extended summer breaks due to their involvement in Euro 2024 and the Copa America respectively.

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Mbappe is also currently recovering from a broken nose, and his Real debut is likely to be delayed until the UEFA Super Cup final against Atalanta in Warsaw on Aug. 14.

Fernandez is expected to link up with Chelsea midway through the club’s U.S. tour, which features friendly fixtures against Wrexham, Celtic, Club America and Manchester City before the final game at Bank of America Stadium, the home of the Carolina Panthers and MLS team Charlotte FC.

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