Argentina's government has announced that Julio Garro is no longer the country's undersecretary of sport after he called for Lionel Messi to apologize for the national team's derogatory song about French players. Chelsea's Argentinian midfielder Enzo Fernández apologized earlier this week after posting a video on social media following his team's 1-0 win over Colombia in Sunday's Copa América final, showing some Argentina players singing offensive chants that targeted France players of African heritage.
The French Football Federation (FFF) stated on Tuesday that it would file a legal complaint, while FIFA also confirmed it was investigating the incident. Garro expressed his belief that both the national team captain, Messi, and the AFA president, Claudio Tapia, should issue apologies for the incident, stating that it tarnished Argentina's reputation despite their sporting achievements.
Argentina's president Javier Milei's office responded by emphasizing that no government entity should dictate the actions or statements of the national team or any citizen. Consequently, Garro was relieved of his duties as Undersecretary of Sports of the Nation. Garro later expressed regret if his comments had caused offense and offered his resignation, affirming his stance against discrimination in all its forms.
Chelsea, Fernández's club, condemned all forms of discriminatory behavior and initiated an internal disciplinary process regarding the offensive chants. Similar chants had been heard from some Argentina fans before the 2022 World Cup final between France and Argentina, which Argentina won. France defender Wesley Fofana expressed his displeasure with his Chelsea teammate Fernández by reposting the video, while Chelsea and France forward Christopher Nkunku commented on the situation, saying, 'God bless them,' in reference to the derogatory remarks made by the Argentinean team.
