Javier Mascherano, the coach of Argentina’s Olympic football squad, said on July 17 that a video showing racist chants by national team players after they won the Copa America was “taken out of context”.

“Argentines, if there’s one thing we’re not, it’s racists, far from that,” he said at Argentina’s pre-Olympic training base in north-western France.

The chants were heard during a live video posted on social media by Chelsea and Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez from the team bus, in the wake of the Copa victory over Colombia in Miami on July 14.

“I know Enzo, he’s a great guy. He doesn’t have any problems like that,” insisted Mascherano.

“Often, as part of a celebration, you can take part of a video and take it out of context.

“If there’s one thing we are as a country, it’s a totally inclusive country. People from all over the world live in Argentina and we treat them as they should be treated.”

Fifa said earlier on July 17 it was opening an investigation into the chant, which dates back to the 2022 World Cup final after Argentina beat France.

“Fifa strongly condemns any form of discrimination by anyone including players, fans and officials,” said a spokesman for world football’s governing body.

The song targets France’s star striker Kylian Mbappe – who has African roots – and includes homophobic insults.

Chelsea have on their part launched an internal disciplinary procedure against Fernandez over the incident.

Mascherano also spoke of a “cultural” misunderstanding.

“Sometimes you have to understand the culture of each country, and sometimes what we perceive as a joke can be misinterpreted elsewhere,” he said.

“Enzo also made it known on social media that he apologised. Sometimes people try to make things much bigger than they are.”

Racism is a serious issue in football and in a separate incident, a Spanish court has on July 17 handed down an eight-month suspended jail term to a person for online racist abuse targeting Real Madrid’s black players Vinicius Junior and Antonio Rudiger.

Real said the individual “acting under various pseudonyms on the digital forum of the Marca newspaper, directed serious racist attacks and insults against our players”.

“The court ordered the accused to serve eight months in prison and not to participate in the above-mentioned forum for 20 months,” the club said.

The accused was found guilty of two offences against Brazilian Vinicius and Rudiger, both aggravated by the fact that they acted with racist motives and, in the case of the German defender, also in contempt of his religion.

The suspended prison sentence was made conditional on the defendant’s participation in a non-discrimination programme.

Real also pointed out that it was the second criminal conviction for racist insults against their players.

On June 10, three Valencia fans were sentenced to eight months for racist insults targeting Vinicius in May 2023.

–AFP

Some of the Albiceleste players have been caught in the eye of the storm after the frenzy of winning their second consecutive Copa America. Enzo Fernández, who posted the controversial video on Instagram, has also sparked a serious revolt at his club, Chelsea.

The so-called “triple crown” arrived in Argentina last weekend. After defeating Colombia and being crowned champion of the 2024 Copa América, they completed a spectacular three-year run, having won the same continental tournament in 2021 and, of course, the World Cup in 2022.

However, it wasn’t until extra time that Nerazurri forward Lautaro Martínez sent the ball into the back of the net at the Hard Rock Stadium. He secured his position as the top scorer with five goals, delivering Argentina their sixteenth South American title.

But the celebrations got out of hand, especially among the younger members of the Argentine squad. Since Monday, a viral video has been circulating on social media, showing Argentine players, with midfielder Enzo prominently featured, singing.

This wouldn’t typically be an issue, except that during their Copa América victory celebration on the bus, the song they started singing was a chant with racist terms against the ‘Bleus’.

Many might wonder why they were chanting about France when their opponent in the Copa América was Colombia. The chant became popular among Argentine fans during the World Cup Final in December 2022, when Argentina faced France. The song contains highly discriminatory lyrics against people of African descent in France:

“Listen up, spread the word, they play in France, but they’re all from Angola.
How lovely it is, they’ll run, they’re trans-eaters like that faggot, Mbappé.
His mother is Nigerian, and his father is Cameroonian,
But on his ID, nationality: French.”

Following this controversial episode, criticism quickly emerged against the Argentine team. “Pathetic. These behaviors are unacceptable,” wrote French Minister of Sports Amélie Oudéa-Castéra on her X account. “FIFA: any reaction?” she concluded sarcastically.

She was not alone. Wesley Fofana, Malo Gusto, and Axel Disasi, teammates of Enzo Fernández at Chelsea, who posted the controversial video, harshly criticized the 23-year-old midfielder.

The trio of French defenders, with African roots, commented that it is “unacceptable” for incidents like this to happen in 2024. They unfollowed Enzo on social media, and a chaotic meeting is expected after the holidays, once the new 2024–2025 season starts at Stamford Bridge.

Aware of his mistake, the San Martín native apologized through his personal profile. “I want to apologize for the celebrations, those words do not reflect who I am.” Chelsea, while appreciating the gesture from their star midfielder, stated that they have “initiated an internal disciplinary procedure,” according to the club’s statement.

Now, it remains to be seen how the situation will progress. The French Football Federation (FFF) filed a complaint for racist statements on social media, as did SOS Racism. Later, FIFA and other organizations announced the “opening of an investigation,” which could possibly result in severe consequences for the recent Copa América champions. FIFA will definitely have its work cut out for it after the security problems and the conflict between Colombia and Uruguay that ended in a massive brawl.

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Jaime Lozano has been sacked as Mexico head coach following their Copa America group-stage exit, the country’s football federation (FMF) said on Tuesday.

Lozano had been offered the chance to continue as an assistant until the 2026 World Cup before returning to the role of head coach until 2030 but the 45-year-old rejected the proposal, FMF added.

Mexico will co-host the 2026 World Cup with Canada and the United States.

“Following the Copa America, the FMF has begun an analysis to determine mistakes, and successes and evaluate areas for improvement in the process,” it said in a statement.

“Jaime Lozano was offered a contract until 2030 in which, during the period 2024-2026, he will accompany a more experienced manager towards our World Cup.

“Lozano has informed us that he does not wish to continue. We respect his decision, we recognise his great professionalism, capacity and dedication.”

Lozano, who spent just one year in the job, led Mexico to the 2023 Gold Cup title and reached the CONCACAF Nations League final earlier this year, losing to the United States.

The former Mexico international posted 10 wins, four draws and seven defeats during his time in charge.

Reports in local media say Javier Aguirre will replace Lozano as Mexico manager for his third stint having coached the side at the 2002 and 2010 World Cups.

-Reuters