Football’s silence on Argentina’s racist chants is deafening and condemnatory

What is telling about the video of Enzo Fernandez and other Argentine players singing a racist song about France after their victory in the Copa America final is the voice heard at the very end.

“Corta (el) vivo,” someone says – “stop the live stream.”

They know. They know what they are saying. They know that what they are saying is deeply offensive, and they know what will happen when the outside world hears it.

It’s not one of those things that you can rule out. It’s not something that you can deny. The lyrics are clear and we know them because the song has been around for a few years.

The lyrics of the chant were: “They play for France, but their parents are from Angola. Their mother is from Cameroon, their father is from Nigeria. But their passport says French.”

The song in question was sung by a group of Argentine fans ahead of the 2022 World Cup final, which was described at the time by French anti-racism protesters as “an expression of a far-right ideology.”

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Frankly, it’s bad enough that Argentina, presumably shielded from a PR perspective by their World Cup victory, didn’t try to distance themselves more from the song, but the fact that the players appear to have incorporated it into their celebrations is much worse. If nothing else, it’s a testament to an uncomfortable collective mentality and prevailing culture that a group of players, in a moment of triumph, would choose this song as part of their celebrations.

It’s also worth noting, without wanting to diminish the obvious racism, that there is also transphobia at play here. The full lyrics of the song refer to French players who are “Cometravas, like Mbappe.” “Cometravas” is a slang term that essentially means “someone who has sex with transgender people.”

Football in general has taken positive steps to make the game more welcoming to LGBTQ+ people. Players who actively choose not to take part in anti-homophobia campaigns are thankfully few and far between, and those who do are often punished – like Monaco midfielder Mohamed Camara, who was banned for four games last season after covering up an anti-homophobia message on his shirt.

However, things like this song do not help, but actually actively harm efforts to make football a more inclusive place.

But as if the song itself and the joyful willingness of the musicians involved to sing it weren’t depressing enough, the consequences were almost as bad.

Fernandez himself issued an apology of sorts, claiming he was “carried away by the euphoria of our Copa America celebrations” and that the song “did not reflect my character or my beliefs.” He also said, rather ridiculously, that he was “against discrimination in any form.” Let’s just say that when he is inevitably forced to take part in some sort of anti-racism campaign in the coming weeks or months, his words will ring hollow.

Chelsea itself reacted quite responsibly and issued a statement outlining its own position and values. It said it would use this as an “opportunity for clarification” and that it had initiated internal disciplinary proceedings.

It will be interesting to see how this case pans out, because if Fernandez was a fan and was caught singing this song in the stands at Stamford Bridge, he would face the ugly end of a fairly lengthy stadium ban.

Otherwise it was very quiet.

Wesley Fofana, the French defender for Chelsea FC, spoke of “unbridled racism”. David Datro Fofana, the club’s striker from Ivory Coast, posted a statement on Instagram saying that “racism in all its forms should be condemned in the strongest possible terms” and that the fight against racism “must be taken seriously by everyone involved in sport”.

David Datro Fofana also condemned the incident (Craig Mercer/MB Media/Getty Images)

It’s the last part that seems most relevant, because aside from those two responses and a picture posted by Nicolas Jackson of Fernandez hugging a black child (the meaning of which is open to interpretation), there wasn’t much else.

So far, only black players have publicly acknowledged the incident. No white player has condemned the song. Perhaps some of Fofana’s white teammates have privately offered support, but nothing beyond that has happened so far.

As we hear depressingly often, it is the Black players who have to do the emotional labor and bear the mental burden that comes with a racist incident. This reinforces the idea that racism is only a Black problem, when in fact it is a plague that shames us all. It isolates the Black players and suggests that no one else has to worry about it.

Imagine the power that would come from a white musician standing up unprompted and condemning the song. It would be a valuable symbol, but it would be more than just a superficial thing. It would have real meaning.

The clubs of the other players in the video have chosen not to comment at the time of writing. Honestly, it’s a little difficult to clearly identify who is singing in the video, but everyone seems to be doing their best to completely ignore the issue.

Maybe we could give them the benefit of the doubt and say that in due course they will speak to their Argentinian players and remind them of their responsibilities – not as footballers or representatives of a club, but as human beings. But for now, it seems they are simply hoping that the whole thing will blow over.

Although it is difficult to identify the people singing, anyone who sat silently while such a racist song was being sung would have at least deserved a conversation. The least we can expect from the clubs is that they acknowledge the incident, investigate it and, if it turns out that one of their players was involved, receive the appropriate punishment.

Chelsea are the only club to have spoken out so far, and this should not necessarily be a special thank you because they could not possibly have avoided it.

Otherwise, however, silence reigns. Despite all the glossy campaigns, well-meaning initiatives and celebratory UEFA videos with the slogan “No to racism”, it is hard to believe that football is serious about fighting racism when there is so much silence at times like these.

(Cover photo: Peter Joneleit/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)