Why are Argentina being booed at the Paris 2024 Olympics?
THE Paris 2024 Olympics has kicked off today with football and rugby sevens starting before the official opening ceremony.
And some of the crowd in attendance at events involving Argentina have appeared to be booing.
Why are Argentina being booed at the Paris 2024 Olympics?
As Argentina were singing their national anthem before their Olympic football match against Morocco in St-Etienne, some of the crowed appeared to be booing.
And then later in the day, Argentina played their rugby sevens opener and the South American country appeared to be booed again.
It comes after Chelsea and Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez posted a video on social media following his country’s Copa America win this summer that the French Football Federation said included alleged “racist and discriminatory language”.
The vile chant appeared to take aim at the French national team and dates back to the 2022 World Cup, when Argentina beat France in the final on penalties.
Appearing on live TV back then, some fans from the South American country sang that France’s players were “all from Angola.”
And in Fernandez’s social media video, he and some of his team-mates could be heard singing the part about Angola during their Copa America celebrations.
At present, it is not clear if the boos during the Olympic Games are directly related to the video.
After the video came out on social media, French FA chiefs have threatened legal action against Argentina as a result of the incident.
A statement from the FFF read: “Faced with the seriousness of these shocking remarks.
“Contrary to the values of sport and human rights, the president of the FFF decided to directly challenge his Argentine counterpart.
“And Fifa to file a legal complaint for insulting remarks of a racial and discriminatory nature.”
While Fernandez’s club side, Chelsea, explained that they would also investigate the video.
Fernandez, who is not part of Argentina’s Olympic squad, released a statement apologising for his actions.
It read: “I want to apologise sincerely for a video posted on my Instagram channel during the national team celebrations.
“The song includes highly offensive language and there is absolutely no excuse for these words.
“I stand against discrimination in all forms and apologise for getting caught up in the euphoria of our Copa America celebrations.
“That video, that moment, those words, do not reflect my beliefs or my character. I am truly sorry.”