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An Argentine government official has been fired after criticizing team captain Lionel Messi for remaining silent about a video of his teammates singing a racist chant.
On Sunday, after Argentina won the Copa América, several players were livestreamed on midfielder Enzo Fernández’s Instagram account singing a racist and transphobic chant about French players of African descent. The footage was widely shared on social media, including by Fernández’s Chelsea teammate and French national player Wesley Fofana. “Football in 2024: uninhibited racism,” he posted, originally in French.
FIFA, the French Football Federation, and Chelsea all issued statements condemning the players for the chant, and Fernández released an apology, saying “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 América celebrations. That video, that moment, those words, do not reflect my belief or character,” the player said.
But still quiet is Messi, who was not seen in the video, but faced criticism from the country’s sports sub-secretary, Julio Garro. The official said on the Argentine radio station Urbana Play that Messi and Claudio Tapia, the president of the Argentine Football Association, both need to apologize. “I think it is appropriate. It leaves us as a country in a bad position, with so much glory,” he said Wednesday, originally in Spanish.
Javier Milei, the right-wing libertarian elected president of Argentina last year, responded, too—not by condemning the racist chant but by firing Garro.
Milei announced the decision later Wednesday on his social media channels, alongside a photo of the team lifting the Copa trophy.
“The Office of the President reports that no government can tell the Argentine National Team, World Champion and two-time Copa América Champion, or any other citizen, what to comment, what to think or what to do. For this reason, Julio Garro ceases to be Undersecretary of Sports of the Nation,” reads the statement, translated into English.
Garro responded to his firing on social media, thanking the president and others for his time in the role and sending good luck to athletes heading to the Olympics and Paralympics.
“I am very sorry if my comment offended anyone, that was never my intention, and that is why I made my resignation available, although I will always be on the other side of discrimination in all its forms,” Garro posted, originally in Spanish.
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