Argentina’s national government on Thursday doubled down on defending the players who celebrated winning the Copa America by singing a racist song targeting France.
The fallout of the chant sung late on Sunday in Miami — which mocked the African heritage of some France players — continued four days later, including a rebuke to Argentina’s critics by the vice-president in its far-right government.
The government fired one of their leading officials who urged Lionel Messi and the president of the Argentine Football Association to apologise.
The sports under-secretary, Julio Garro, spoke after Fifa said it was looking into the incident and English club Chelsea started a disciplinary process against their midfielder Enzo Fernandez.
He broadcast the footage on social media from the Argentina team bus in Florida.
It is unclear from the video if Messi — widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time — participated in the chant. But Garro said he should say sorry.
“The national team captain must also come out to apologise for this case. The same AFA (Argentina Football Association) president,” Garro said in radio statements. “I think it is appropriate. It leaves us as a country in a bad position, with so much glory.”
On Thursday, Argentina President Javier Milei’s office posted on X that Garro has been removed from his position.
“No government can tell what to comment, what to think or what to do to the Argentine National Team, World Champion and Two-time American Champion, or to any other citizen. For this reason, Julio Garro ceases to be Undersecretary of Sports of the Nation,” the account of Oficina del Presidente wrote on X.
Vice-president Victoria Villarruel too hit back at the country’s critics.
“No country with a colonial history is going to put us down for a song sung on a field nor for speaking a truth that nobody wants to admit,” Villarruel wrote on social media.
“Enough of pretending to be offended, hypocrites. Enzo I am with you, Messi thanks for everything! Argentines always keep your heads high! Long live Argentina!”
Villarruel said Argentina’s history had been forged by people of all races: “We never forced our way of life on anyone, nor will we tolerate that someone tries to do the same to us.”
Midfielder Fernandez said he was “truly sorry” for the incident”.
“That video, that moment, those words, do not reflect my beliefs or my character,”
he said on Instagram. “I am truly sorry.”
The derogatory chants single out France players of African heritage, from several countries, and holding a French passport.
The Argentine “football chant”, where such jokes between fans and even friends are commonplace (cultural aspects of a country that lives and breathes football like few others in the world), reached the Argentine celebrations and was deemed discriminatory by the French.
Argentina’s Olympic football team coach Javier Mascherano has also spoken out about the video, saying it was “taken out of context” and that neither Fernandez nor Argentines are racists.
Double Olympic gold medallist (Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008) and former Barcelona and River player Mascherano said: “Argentines, if there’s one thing we’re not, it’s racists, far from it.
“I know Enzo, he’s a great guy. He doesn’t have any problems like that,” he insisted at Argentina’s pre-Olympic training base in northwestern France.
“As part of a celebration, you can often take part of a video and take it out of context,” explained the national coach, who will make his debut in the Olympic Games against Morocco on July 24.
“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 the way they should be treated,” the former Liverpool player concluded.
Mascherano also spoke of a “cultural” misunderstanding. “Sometimes you have to understand the culture of each country and sometimes what we see as a joke can be misinterpreted elsewhere,” he explained.
“Enzo also apologised on social media. Sometimes people try to make things much bigger than they are”.
Mascherano added that Fernandez will have “no problem” with the droves of Chelsea stars unfollowing him on social media and suggested that the investigation seems somewhat exaggerated.
Chelsea and Senegal forward Nicolas Jackson though appeared to defend Fernandez by posting an image of the midfielder interacting with a young Black child.
