“It is an absolute shame”: the French press repudiated a discriminatory song by a group of Argentine fans

The French press criticized the xenophobic and homophobic chant of Argentine fans

“Listen, run the ball…”. Thus begins one of the most widespread and discriminatory songs in Argentine soccer. It was popularized by fans of Nueva Chicago directed at his classic rival, Almirante Brown. The hit does not refer to ridicule related to relegations, history of classics or lack of titles. On the contrary, and under the argument of folklore, it appeals to homophobia, gender violence and the right to identity.

The song has already begun to be heard on the streets of Qatar. A group of Argentine fans who traveled to support the national team sang it in front of the television cameras. The song has modifications in the lyrics but is equally xenophobic and transphobic: now alludes to French footballers of African origin and, in derogatory terms, launches an offensive phrase against kylian mbappe.

The controversy broke out during a broadcast of TyC Sports from Doha. Euphoric, the Argentine supporters approached the mobile and began to sing the song. The scene quickly went viral on social media and sparked outrage in the French press.

Kylian Mbappé was targeted by Argentine fans (Reuters)
Kylian Mbappé was targeted by Argentine fans (Reuters)

“Live racism”pointed out the public radio French Info and pointed against the sports channel: “At the moment, he has not given any explanation about the transmission of this sequence. The journalist holding the microphone waited about twenty seconds before interrupting the fans.” For his part, RMC Sports rated the images “hateful”.

Florent Torchut is a French journalist for the magazine French Football and from the newspaper L’Equipe who interviewed Lionel Messi three times and was in charge of bringing the seventh Ballon d’Or to the home of the Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) player. Reflecting on what happened, he tried to “idiots” to the fans and asked: “Di Maria, Messi, De Paul and company, don’t they have foreign ancestors?”

“Logically, France, a colonizing country, welcomed immigrant labor from its former colonies after World War II and their children and grandchildren gradually integrated, especially in soccer. But it takes a brain to figure that outTorchut added.

Through social channels, Media Parisen He also echoed the scandal and wrote: “It is an absolute shame, uninhibited racismHow is it possible to see that in 2022? Really?”.

Argentine supporters in Doha (Reuters)
Argentine supporters in Doha (Reuters)

“And one more controversy… If this is not directly related to Qatar, it will still make noise,” he published concisely le figaro. L’Equipe did the same: it did not qualify the attitude of the Argentine fans, although it stressed that the sports network “has not apologized for these images.”

Several local media mentioned that the French Football Federation did not rule on the matter. Others also recalled what happened at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, where the French team was crowned champion, eliminating Argentina in the round of 16 with an outstanding performance by Mbappé.

“Four years later, Argentine fans they are taking revenge in the most despicable way”, stressed RMC Sports. “Kylian Mbappé will take charge of Argentina once again,” predicted Media Parisen.

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“It is an absolute shame”: the French press repudiated a discriminatory song by a group of Argentine fans