Enzo Fernandez apologises for racist song against French players and admits getting carried away by the euphoria of the celebrations | Football news

Argentine midfielder Enzo Fernandez has apologized for the racist chants he and his teammates displayed towards the players of the French soccer team during the Copa America title celebration. A video from Enzo’s Instagram Live went viral on social media, showing the Argentine team celebrating their Copa America triumph after a 1-0 win over Colombia in the final on July 14 in Miami. The video included a song by some members of the Argentine team about the players of France.

Enzo made no apology for the racist comments he and his other teammates made in the viral video, saying they were carried away by the euphoria of the celebrations.

“I would like to sincerely apologize for a video posted on my Instagram channel during the national team celebrations. The song contained highly offensive language and there is absolutely no excuse for those words,” Fernandez wrote in his Instagram story.

“I am against discrimination in any form and I apologize for getting carried away by the euphoria of our celebrations. This video, this moment, these words do not reflect my beliefs or my character. I am truly sorry,” he continued.

Meanwhile, the French Football Federation (FFF) has decided to file a complaint with the world football association FIFA. It states that the viral video contained an allegedly “racist and discriminatory” chant.

“Given the seriousness of these shocking statements, which are contrary to the values ​​of sport and human rights, the President of the FFF has decided to address himself directly to his Argentine counterpart and FIFA and file a complaint for racially offensive and discriminatory statements,” the FFF said.

The derogatory chants are specifically aimed at French players of African origin who come from several countries and hold a French passport.

“The President of the French Football Federation, Philippe Diallo, strongly condemns the unacceptable racist and discriminatory remarks made against the players of the French team during a song sung by players and fans of the Argentine team,” the FFF added.

Enzo appears to be losing the support of his Chelsea teammates, with one of the Blues stars and French international Welsey Fofana commenting on the video on social media platform X, saying: “Football in 2024: unbridled racism.” The comment was accompanied by a clip from the video.