Messi has been asked to apologise on behalf of the Argentina national team for the behaviour of Enzo Fernandez and other players.
International public opinion is abuzz about some Argentine players, while celebrating the 2024 Copa America championship, making offensive remarks aimed at French players . Enzo Fernandez livestreamed himself and some teammates singing sentences implying that the French players of color are of African descent and therefore what they have won does not deserve to belong to France.
This story, after breaking out, received an angry reaction from France, the French Football Federation asked FIFA to punish Argentina and this matter even threatened to reach the diplomatic agencies of the two countries. As for Enzo, he faced anger from French players at Chelsea in particular and other players of color, most of whom unfollowed Enzo on Instagram.
Recently, Matt Law of the Telegraph, a reporter familiar with Chelsea, said that Enzo, in addition to the message on Instagram, contacted each of his French Chelsea teammates individually to apologize. Enzo expressed regret for his words and when he returned to the club to train, he would meet each of them in person to express his sincere apology.
Enzo’s teammates have had mixed reactions to the news. David Datro Fofana wrote on Instagram: “The football I love is a multi-ethnic football that does not discriminate. Any discrimination should be strongly condemned because it goes against the spirit of football, and those who are involved in this sport must take it seriously.”
Meanwhile, striker Nicolas Jackson posted a video of Enzo playing with a black child, and said that although Enzo’s actions were wrong, he was willing to forgive Enzo. Jackson said that Enzo was not racist or xenophobic by nature, and that his actions deserved punishment, but that did not stop Enzo Fernandez from making amends.
But that was just Enzo Fernandez personally, other Argentine players also participated in the singing incident and dealing with them is a problem now that even the Argentine Football Association (AFA) cannot leave alone. Recently, the Deputy Secretary of the Argentine National Sports Directorate, Mr. Julio Gorro, demanded an active reconciliation from the Argentine team instead of continuing to leave a bad image in the eyes of international public opinion.
“This is an opportunity for us to turn this story into an example of behavior,” said Mr. Gorro. “Society needs to see that people in football also have to behave properly and know how to ask for forgiveness when they make mistakes. Apologizing is something we teach our children in life, in school, in groups, but it is not in football.”
“The captain of the national team, Lionel Messi , and the president of the Football Federation, Chiqui Tapia, should come forward and apologize. I know they are not the ones who did this, but those players have put the image of our team and our country under scrutiny and the leaders must be held accountable. In other areas, we put responsibility on the leaders when their subordinates do wrong, I think football should be the same.”
