Argentina national anthem booed at Paris Olympics after racism row involving Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez
Argentina players were booed during the national anthem in their 2024 Paris Olympics opener against Morocco in Saint-Etienne on July 24. The boos came from fans who were still angry with the racist chants from the La Albiceleste players after their recent Copa America triumph.
As per a report in the Daily Mail, fans inside the Geoffroy-Guichard stadium did not shy away from expressing their anger towards the Argentine players. French fans also took it out on the Argentina rugby team earlier in the day in their match against Kenya.
Hugo Lloris recently spoke about the racist chants that were broadcast by Enzo Fernandez on his Instagram live. The former Tottenham goalkeeper stated that the Argentina players should have known better. He said (via GOAL):
"It doesn't matter if you are in a moment of euphoria because you have won an important trophy. It demands even more responsibility when you are a winner. You don't want to hear or see this kind of thing in football. We all stand against discrimination and racism. I just think and hope it is a mistake. We all make mistakes sometimes and hopefully they will learn from it."
Argentina went on to lose 2-1 to Morocco. They scored a late equalizer, but it was controversially ruled out over an hour later by VAR as the game was suspended due to crowd trouble.
Chelsea ready to move on from Enzo Fernandez's chants with Argentina
New Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has addressed the racist chants from Enzo Fernandez and his Argentina teammates following their Copa America win. He stated that the issue was behind them as the player had cleared things with his teammates. Maresca said (via GOAL):
"The player did a statement, apologized, and the club did the same. I don't think there is something to add, the situation is already clear. When Enzo is back, I don't think we will have any problems, the player already clarified the situation, and the club did the same. There is nothing to add. He is not a bad human being. It can happen, I don't think there are any problems at all. I spoke with Enzo, I spoke with a lot of them. The player has made a statement and apologized, it is clear."
Reece James also spoke about the incident and confirmed that Fernandez has apologized to his Chelsea teammates.