The telling bit within the video of Enzo Fernandez and different Argentinian gamers singing a racist tune about France following their victory within the Copa America remaining is the voice you may hear simply on the finish.
“Corta (el) vivo,” somebody says — “cease the dwell stream.”
They know. They know what they’re saying. They know that what they’re saying is profoundly offensive, and so they know what is going to occur if the skin world hears it.
This isn’t a kind of issues that may be equivocated. It’s not one thing that may be denied. The phrases are clear, and we all know the phrases as a result of it’s a tune that has been round for a few years.
The phrases to the mantra have been: “They play for France, however their dad and mom are from Angola. Their mom is from Cameroon, whereas their father is from Nigeria. However their passport says French.”
The tune in query got here from a bunch of Argentina followers earlier than the 2022 World Cup remaining, which was flagged on the time by French anti-racist protestors as an “expression of a far-right ideology”.
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Frankly it’s unhealthy sufficient that Argentina, presumably insulated from a PR perspective by their victory on the World Cup, didn’t search to distance themselves extra from the tune, however the reality the gamers appear to have integrated it into their celebrations is a lot worse. If nothing else, it speaks to an disagreeable collective mentality and pervading tradition {that a} group of gamers, at a second of triumph, would select this tune as a part of their celebrations.
It’s additionally value noting, with out wishing to detract from the blatant racism, the transphobia that’s at play right here too. The total lyrics of the tune make reference to French gamers being “cometravas, like Mbappe.” “Cometravas” is a slang time period that primarily interprets as “somebody who has intercourse with transgender individuals”.
Soccer normally has made optimistic steps to make the sport extra welcoming for LGBTQ+ individuals. Gamers who actively select to not take part in anti-homophobia campaigns are fortunately few and much between, and those who do are sometimes punished — like Monaco midfielder Mohamed Camara who, after protecting up an anti-homophobia message on his shirt final season, was suspended for 4 video games.
Issues like this tune, nevertheless, don’t assist and in reality actively hurt the trouble to make soccer a extra inclusive place.
But when the tune itself and the gleeful willingness of the gamers concerned to sing it was not miserable sufficient, the aftermath has been nearly as unhealthy.
Fernandez himself issued an apology of types, claiming that he acquired “caught up within the euphoria of our Copa America celebrations” and the tune didn’t “replicate my character or beliefs”. He additionally stated, reasonably laughably, that “I stand in opposition to discrimination in all kinds”. Let’s simply say that when he’s inevitably compelled to take part in some type of anti-racism marketing campaign within the weeks or months to return, his phrases will ring hole.
Chelsea themselves reacted in pretty accountable trend, placing out an announcement that set out their very own place and values, saying they may use this as “a possibility to teach” and that they’ve began an inner disciplinary process.
It will likely be fascinating to see what comes of that course of, provided that if Fernandez was a fan and was caught singing that tune within the stands at Stamford Bridge, he can be trying on the ugly finish of a reasonably prolonged stadium ban.
Past that although, issues have been very quiet.
Wesley Fofana, the French Chelsea defender, referred to as it “uninhibited racism”. David Datro Fofana, the membership’s Ivory Coast striker, put an announcement on Instagram saying that “racism in all its kinds ought to be condemned within the strongest potential phrases” and that the battle in opposition to racism “must be taken significantly by everybody concerned within the sport”.
David Datro Fofana has additionally condemned the incident (Craig Mercer/MB Media/Getty Pictures)
It’s the final bit that feels probably the most pertinent. As a result of except for these two responses, plus an image posted by Nicolas Jackson of Fernandez hugging a black baby, the which means of which is open to interpretation, there’s not been a lot else.
Solely black gamers have acknowledged the incident publicly to date. No white gamers have condemned the tune. Maybe a few of Fofana’s white team-mates have provided non-public help, however as issues stand there was nothing past that.
As will likely be depressingly acquainted, it’s the black gamers which have been left to do the emotional work, to hold the psychological baggage of getting to take care of a racist incident. It enforces the concept racism is an issue just for black individuals, when it’s a blight that shames us all. It isolates the black gamers, suggesting that it’s not one thing that anybody else has to fret about.
Think about the facility that might come from a white participant standing up, unprompted, and condemning the tune. It will present a beneficial image, however it might be greater than only a surface-level factor. It will have real import.
The golf equipment of the opposite gamers within the video have, on the time of writing, determined to not remark. It’s, in equity, just a little difficult to definitively establish precisely who’s singing within the video, however everybody appears to be attempting their finest to disregard the difficulty totally.
Maybe we might give them the good thing about the doubt and say that, in time, they may communicate to their Argentinian gamers and remind them of their duties — not as footballers or representatives of a membership, however as human beings. However in the intervening time it might appear that they’re simply hoping the entire thing goes away.
Even whether it is robust to establish the people doing the singing, anybody who sat in silence whereas such a racist tune was being sung in all probability might do with not less than a talking-to. Certainly the least we are able to count on from the golf equipment is for them to acknowledge the incident, that they may examine and whether it is discovered that any of their gamers have been concerned, they might face the suitable punishment.
Chelsea are the one membership to have stated something to date, not that we must always essentially be handing out further credit score for that: in any case, they couldn’t probably have prevented it.
Elsewhere although, crickets. For all of the shiny campaigns and well-intentioned initiatives and solemnly shot ‘No to racism’ UEFA movies, when a lot of the sport is silent at moments like this, the concept soccer is critical about combating racism may be very laborious to take significantly.
(Header picture: Peter Joneleit/Icon Sportswire through Getty Pictures)
