Lawsuit announced

At Copa celebrations: racism scandal involving Argentinians!

The Argentinians after their victory in the Copa final against Colombia.(Bild: AFP/APA/CHARLY TRIBALLEAU)

Some players of the Argentinian national soccer team started racist chants during the celebrations after the Copa America triumph. In it, they denigrated several French national team players. The French association has now announced its intention to press charges against the South Americans. 

After the 1:0 victory over Colombia in the Copa America final, the Argentinians' jubilation knew no bounds. The South Americans celebrated their triumph exuberantly on Monday night and caused a scandal in the process. A video of the celebrations, posted on Instagram by Chelsea kicker Enzo Fernandez, cast a shadow over the title party.

Fernandez sang various racist lyrics together with other teammates. For example, in connection with memories of the 2022 World Cup final against France, the lyrics read: "They play for France, but their parents are from Angola. Your mother is from Cameroon, while your father is from Nigeria. But your ID card says French." 

Fernandez apologizes
Scenes and texts that caused outrage. Fernandez eventually deleted the video and subsequently apologized in a statement on Instagram and X. "The song contains deeply offensive language and there is absolutely no excuse for those words," the 23-year-old said remorsefully. The video and the words in no way reflect his character and beliefs, the Argentinian assured. 

However, the reactions to the video did not stop there. Chelsea team-mate Wesley Fofana condemned the action, which he said showed "uninhibited racism". His French national team colleague Joules Kounde posted smiley faces throwing up. 

Fernandez and his teammates are now also facing trouble from the official side. The French federation has announced a complaint: "In view of the seriousness of these shocking statements, which violate the values of sport and human rights, the FFF president has decided to contact his Argentinian counterpart and FIFA directly to file a complaint for racist and discriminatory statements," it said in a press release. So the last word on this matter has not yet been spoken.