July 16th 2024.
Enzo Fernandez, a talented midfielder for Chelsea, captured a video of his fellow Argentine players singing a derogatory chant directed towards France and Kylian Mbappe. The incident took place during their celebration on the team bus after their hard-fought 1-0 victory over Colombia in the Copa America final on Sunday evening.
During the live broadcast on Instagram, Fernandez quickly ended the video when he realized that some of his teammates were singing the offensive song. This chant, which was first heard during the 2022 World Cup, falsely claims that all French players are from Angola and includes a disgraceful reference to Mbappe's rumored relationship with transgender model Ines Rau.
The short video captured a portion of the song, with the players singing the first two lines, "on passport, French nationality, listen, spread the word, they play in France, but they are all..." before someone interrupts and says, "cut the video."
The full lyrics of the song are even more appalling, with lines such as "they like to sleep with trans people" and references to the players' African heritage. As a player himself, Fernandez is no stranger to diversity, as he plays alongside several black French teammates at Chelsea, including Benoit Badiashile, Axel Disasi, Wesley Fofana, Malo Gusto, Christopher Nkunku, and Lesley Ugochukwu.
Fernandez, who joined Chelsea in a record-breaking €121 million deal from Benfica in January 2023, will have a delayed start to his pre-season training due to his participation in the Copa America this summer. Despite the controversy surrounding the video, the Argentine Football Federation has yet to address the issue.
It is disheartening to see such offensive behavior from professional athletes, especially in a sport that prides itself on inclusivity and diversity. We can only hope that incidents like this will be swiftly condemned and punished, and that players will use their platform to promote unity and respect.
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