Paris Olympics stormy: Enzo Fernandez sparks controversy
A misdemeanor that instantly set the Paris Olympics on edge. Let's take a look back at the twisted tale of Argentine international Enzo Fernandez on the eve of the Olympics. In the middle of last month, he took home the trophy at the Copa America. Upon returning home, Fernandez shared a video on social media showing him singing a cheering song as he rode the bus.
However, the cheering song sparked an uproar. The song was created during Argentina's penalty shootout victory over France and contained "racist lyrics" against the French team. The song was created during the 2008 World Cup in Qatar and has become Argentina's favorite cheer song. The lyrics are overtly racist, with references to "all French players being from Angola", "French players having Nigerian mothers and Cameroonian fathers", and, in particular, sexualized mockery of French national team star Kylian Mbappe.
After realizing his mistake, Fernandez quickly apologized and expressed his apologies to his teammates during his participation in Chelsea's preseason tour of the United States. But things didn't seem to calm down. At the Olympics in Paris, France, accidents happened again. France and Argentina met in the quarterfinals of the men's soccer tournament, and Thierry Henry, the head coach of France's under-23 national team, advanced to the semifinals by defeating Argentina 1-0 in the early morning hours of the 3rd. After the match, accidents happened one after another.
According to European media reports on the 3rd, players from both teams clashed violently after the match. French midfielder Enzo Milo's enthusiastic reaction to the Argentine players' win provoked the anger of the Argentine players. On the field, players from both teams began to fight and push each other. Despite attempts to stop it, the chaos spread and even extended into the tunnel. Even before the match was decided, the two teams had shown hostility over Enzo Fernández's live cheering broadcast.
Before the match against Argentina, France's Olympic head coach Henry was asked about it. He said contemptuously, "Provocation from Argentina? I'm not going to talk about it. As a coach, I have a game to prepare for. Just want to talk about the match. It's important."
