Wesley Fofana has hit out at “uninhibited racism” and the French Football Federation has said it will file a legal complaint alleging “racially offensive and discriminatory remarks” were made by Argentina players after their Copa América victory against Colombia on Sunday night.
The complaints follow footage posted by the Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernández on his Instagram account, which appeared to show him and his teammates involved in chants that included racist and homophobic slurs about members of the France team as they celebrated their 1-0 win in the final on Sunday. Fernández later apologised, saying the video did not “reflect my beliefs or my character”.
The French defender Fofana – a Chelsea teammate of Fernández who has also appeared for the France national team – tweeted on Tuesday night accompanied by a clip from the footage: “Football in 2024: uninhibited racism.” The Premier League club were reported to be investigating the video.
In a statement the FFF – the governing body of French football – said its president, Philippe Diallo, would challenge the Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, and the Argentina Football Association president, Claudio Fabián 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 América 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.”
Fernández used Instagram to “apologise sincerely” for the video he posted. “The song includes highly offensive language and there is absolutely no excuse for these words,” he wrote. “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, do not reflect my character or beliefs. I am truly sorry.”
Argentina beat France after a penalty shootout in the 2022 World Cup final, a match around which some fans of the Argentina team were heard to sing discriminatory songs.
