Any match involving France and Argentina is one worth watching but Friday’s showdown in the men’s quarter-final of the Olympics is bordering on unmissable given the recent acrimony that has flared between the nations.
Host nation France, coached by Arsenal legend Thierry Henry, cruised through Group A after beating the USA, Guinea and New Zealand to set up a mouthwatering meeting with Argentina in Bordeaux after they finished below Morocco in Group B.
The two countries are among the most successful international sides in the men’s game and are part of a select group of multiple World Cup winners, with Argentina lifting the trophy three times and France doing so twice.
The pair are the most recent world champions too, with France winning the 2018 tournament in Russia and Argentina doing so in Qatar in 2022.
That Argentina triumph came at France’s expense. They won on penalties after a titanic battle over 120 minutes in which their best players took centre stage, with Lionel Messi scoring twice and Kylian Mbappe netting a hat-trick.
Relations between the countries have become strained in the aftermath of the final in Doha. Before the game, Argentine fans sang a song that has racist connotations about French players of African heritage.
The song includes the words: “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.”
French anti-racism movement SOS Racisme stated that the song is an “expression of a far-right ideology”.
It also makes transphobic slurs against Mbappe, who was taunted by Argentine players after the World Cup final. During celebrations in Buenos Aires, Aston Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez posed with a doll with Mbappe’s face on it.
Tensions escalated further in July when Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez filmed himself and other members of Argentina’s squad singing the song after their win against Colombia in the Copa America final.
In response to the video, the French Football Federation (FFF) pledged to file a legal complaint against the Argentine Football Association to Fifa for “racist and discriminatory remarks” that are “contrary to the values of sport and human rights”.
Several of Fernandez’s Chelsea colleagues unfollowed him on social media after the incident and France defender and club teammate Wesley Fofana, whose father is from the Ivory Coast, described the video as “uninhibited racism”. Former France captain and ex-Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris said it was an “attack on French people”.
Fernandez, who joined Chelsea for £107m from Benfica a month after the World Cup final, issued an apology on his Instagram page, saying “there is absolutely no excuse for these words,” and that the song and its contents “do not reflect my beliefs or my character”.
The 23-year-old apologised to his Chelsea teammates in person on Monday after joining up with the squad in Atlanta for their pre-season tour of the United States. He has also offered to make a significant donation to an anti-discriminatory charity.
Chelsea launched internal disciplinary procedure against Fernandez that has reportedly now been closed. New manager Enzo Maresca has insisted that the squad have “all accepted” the midfielder’s apology.
Last Friday, Argentina’s populist right-wing president Javier Milei met French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss trade relations. The recency of the post-Copa America celebrations will have certainly added a diplomatic edge to those talks.
Argentina’s football and rugby sevens teams have been whistled and booed by French fans during the Olympics.
The football team led by Javier Mascherano can expect an even frostier reception on Friday night when they go head-to-head against Les Bleus.
Four members of Mascherano’s squad – Nicolas Otamendi, Geronimo Rulli, Julian Alvarez and Thiago Almada – won the World Cup in 2022 and with the exception of new Lyon signing Almada, all featured in the Copa America success this summer. By contrast, none of the French squad at this Olympics featured in the last World Cup.
The winner on Friday will be well placed to win a gold medal, with Spain the only other traditional powerhouse of international football still in the competition.
A victory for France would go some way to avenging that defeat in Qatar. Rarely has a football fixture in the Olympics had so much riding on it.
from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/hkSwT2g
Post a Comment