July 19 – Former French captain Hugo Lloris has waded into the Argentina racism row by declaring that racist chants about French players were an “attack on French people”.
A video posted by Chelsea’s Argentina international Enzo Fernandez on Instagram after his team beat Colombia 1-0 in Sunday’s Copa America final in the USA, featured a song sung by some members of the Argentina squad about French players of African descent.
FIFA is investigating the video after the French Football Federation (FFF) said it was “racist and discriminatory” while Chelsea have also started an internal disciplinary procedure over the matter.
Fernandez later apologised for the video saying he got caught up in the euphoria of celebrations and the song does not reflect his beliefs or character as he stands against discrimination.
But Lloris charged: “It doesn’t matter if you are in a moment of euphoria because you have won an important trophy It demands even more responsibility when you are a winner.”
“We all stand against discrimination and racism. I just think and hope it is a mistake. We all make mistakes sometimes and hopefully they will learn from it.”
Argentina’s Vice President Victoria Villarruel has defended Fernandez and the team and instead sacked the country’s undersecretary for sports, Julio Garro, for suggesting that captain Lionel Messi, who was not involved in the chanting, also apologise.
But Lloris, who is France’s most capped player, their 2018 World Cup winning captain and who now plays for Los Angeles FC in the MLS, added: “Argentina are the face of football right now, in South America, in the world. They deserve a lot of credit for what they have done on the field for the last four or five years.”
“But when you win, you are an example for others, especially kids.
“It was a proper attack about the French people, especially for the French people who have some African origin and family.”
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