Argentina fired their deputy sports minister for suggesting that Lionel Messi should apologize for his teammates singing a racist and homophobic song aimed at France after their Copa America victory on Sunday
Following a lackluster 1-0 win over Colombia in the 2024 Copa America final, midfielder Enzo Fernandez livestreamed himself and teammates singing the discriminatory song on the team bus. Amid the backlash, under-secretary of sport Julio Garro spoke on the issue, a decision that would backfire right away.
Garro appeared on radio station Urbana Play and suggested the Argentine captain apologize for his team’s actions. Hours later, he was sacked by Argentina’s right-wing president Javier Milei.
‘The Office of the President states that no government has the right to tell the Argentine national team, world champions and double Copa America champions, or any other citizen, what to comment, what to think and what to do,’ Milei’s official social media accounts stated.
‘That is why Julio Garro ceases to be the under-secretary of sport.’
Garro responded to the video by saying: ‘I think [Messi] should come out and offer the appropriate apologies, as should the Argentine Football Federation president [Claudio Tapia].’
He added that the incident ‘leaves Argentina looking bad as a country’ and that it would be good to ‘make an example out of this’.
The song being sang in the video mocked France’s players for their African heritage. After the immediate adverse reaction from fans, Fernandez issued an apology on social media.
‘I want to apologize sincerely for a video posted on my Instagram channel during the national team celebrations,’ he wrote.
— Enzo Fernández (@IEnzofernandez8) July 16, 2024
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Not fair on him
This is not fair