An unexpected stadium fiasco has overshadowed the Olympic flame. The hero of the story, Argentina's rising soccer star Enzo Fernandez, returned from last month's Copa America with the cup, only to make waves on his way home. He shared a video on social media showing himself singing and cheering on a bus.
But the song featured in the cheering video is an insulting French cheering song. Argentina used the song to boost morale at the 2008 World Cup in Qatar, and it contains "racist lyrics" about the French team. The song has now become a cheer song for Argentine fans. The lyrics are filled with racial slurs against French players, particularly the gender-shaming of star player Kylian Mbappe.
Fernandez issued an apology as soon as he realized his mistake. Nonetheless, he apologized to his teammates at Chelsea's pre-season game in the United States, and it seemed that the storm had gradually subsided. However, at the Olympics in Paris, France, accidents happened again. Argentina and France faced off in the quarterfinals of the men's soccer tournament, and the team led by French head coach Thierry Henry eliminated Argentina 1-0 to advance to the semifinals. After the match, a heated fight between players from both sides sparked chaos. According to European media reports, players from both teams clashed after the match, with French player Enzomillo's emotional outburst against the Argentinian victor provoking the ire of his opponent. Players on the field began pushing and shoving each other in the fight, and the chaos spread despite attempts by players to stop it. The animosity between the two teams had already been evident before this day's match over Fernandez's cheering video, which eventually erupted at the end of the match.
Facing a reporter's question about Argentina's provocation, Coach Henry responded with contempt, "I'm not going to talk about it, as a coach I have a game to prepare for and just want to talk about the game. It's important."
