French FA lodge complaint against "racially offensive" Argentina song after Copa America win
- Planet Sport writer
- 17 July 2024
The French Football Federation has said it will take legal action after "racially offensive and discriminatory remarks" were made by Argentina players following their Copa America victory over Colombia on Sunday night.
The complaint follows footage that was posted by Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez on his Instagram account, which appeared to show him and his team-mates chanting about the France team as they celebrated their 1-0 win in Sunday‘s final.
In a statement, the FFF — the governing body of French football — said its president Philippe Diallo would challenge FIFA president Gianni Infantino and Argentina Football Association boss Claudio Fabian Tapia to respond to the alleged remarks.
The statement read: "The president of the French Football Federation, Philippe Diallo, condemns in the strongest terms the unacceptable racist and discriminatory remarks which were made against the players of the French team in the context of a song sung by players and supporters of the Argentina team after its victory in the Copa America and broadcast in a video on social media.
"Faced with the seriousness of these shocking remarks, contrary to the values of sport and human rights, the president of the FFF decided to directly challenge his Argentinian counterpart and FIFA, and to file a legal complaint for insulting remarks of a racist and discriminatory nature."
Argentina beat France in a penalty shoot-out in the 2022 World Cup final, a match around which some fans of the Argentina team were heard to sing discriminatory songs.
