‘Messi told us not to taunt anyone,’ says Rodrigo De Paul on Argentina’s racism allegations stained Copa America win
Argentina’s party after winning the 2024 Copa America has been cut short after the national team has been under scanner for allegations of racism.
After a live video on midfielder Enzo Fernandez’s Instagram of a derogatory song being sung in the team bus became the subject of scrutiny, questions were raised on the involvement, if any, of team captain Lionel Messi in all of this. The Argentine talisman isn’t seen in the video alongside a group of other players. Rodrigo De Paul, also a member of the Copa America winning squad, recently said that Messi had told his teammates not to taunt the opposition after they won the final on Sunday.
“When the final ended, Messi came and the first thing he said was, ‘nobody taunts anyone, let’s celebrate and enjoy our victory’,” De Paul told OLGA.
“They always find something against the winner. Whether it’s that we got help, or that we taunt others, or that it’s not such a good team, or that South America is less developed than Europe, we didn’t see any fuss about that when they say those things about us. All these things are said to discredit what we’ve achieved,” he added.
In the video doing rounds on social media, Argentina players can be heard singing: “They play for France, but their parents are from Angola. Their mother is from Cameroon, while their father is from Nigeria. But their passport says French.”
It’s a video that has irked many in the football community, including the France Football Association (FFF), who have also issued its statement with president Philippe Diallo challenging FIFA president Gianni Infantino and Argentina Football Association president, Claudio Fabian Tapia, to respond to the remarks in the footage. FFF also confirmed that it will file an official complaint over the video.
Fernandez’s clubmate at Chelsea and France footballer, Wesley Fofana also took to his social media to quote the Argentine’s video as “uninhibited racism.”
“I understand that people who have suffered from racism might not like it. But I think if any of Enzo’s teammates feel offended, the way is to call him, not post it on social media. I think there’s malice in this; they’re trying to make it something it’s not. It’s very strange, like kicking someone when they’re down,” De Paul said.
Enzo Fernandez’s father, Raul also came in defence of his son, “He’s not racist, never! It’s hard for a European to understand our football culture like chants and celebrations. He recorded that live video at an inopportune moment. It was bad, he didn’t even realize what he was singing,” he told a local TV channel.
“In 2014, when Germany beat us, they imitated how gauchos walk and called us ignorant. In 2018, France mocked Messi for his height. We never came out to say we were being discriminated against,” he added.
