Crowd chaos, a delayed kick off and a Lionel Messi injury headlined the Copa América final as Argentina defeated Colombia to win a record-breaking 16th time.
The French soccer federation is filing a legal complaint over “racist and discriminatory remarks” by Argentina players in post-match chants about France's team after the Copa America final.
Argentina beat Colombia 1-0 on Sunday. A video posted on Instagram by Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez and widely viewed on X showed Argentina players appearing to sing about French players with African heritage.
The same chants — by some Argentina fans — emerged before France and Argentina met in the World Cup final two years ago, which Argentina won.
“Given the seriousness of these shocking remarks, which are contrary to the values of sport and human rights, the FFF president has decided to contact its Argentinian counterpart and FIFA directly to file a legal complaint for racist and discriminatory remarks," the French soccer federation said in a statement on Tuesday.
The derogatory chants single out France players of African heritage, from several countries, and holding a French passport.
“The president of the French Football Federation, Philippe Diallo, condemns in the strongest terms the unacceptable racist and discriminatory remarks made against the players of the France team as part of a song sung by players and supporters of the Argentina team," the FFF added.
The federation is making the fight against racism in soccer a priority with a new task force.
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