“France, they are dead” – Lionel Messi and Argentina teammates sing controversial song in front of their fans, video goes viral
Lionel Messi, along with Argentina players and fans, was heard singing 'France are dead' chants during their celebration on Thursday night. They were playing in front of the home crowd and it was their first match since winning the World Cup last year.
The South American side won the FIFA World Cup last year by beating France in the final. They were leading 2-0 in the match, but a hat-trick from Kylian Mbappe saw the game taken to a penalty shootout, where Argentina won 4-2.
Lionel Messi & co singing last night: “A minute of silence for… France, they are dead.” https://t.co/NvVtscmp1X
After their win over Panama on Thursday, Argentina players celebrated their World Cup win in front of their fans. In a surprise turn, Lionel Messi and co were heard singing:
"A minute of silence for… France, they are dead."
Lionel Messi's teammate blasted for FIFA World Cup celebrations
Emiliano Martinez was blasted by Graeme Souness and Patrick Vieira earlier this season when the Argentine goalkeeper's antics were seen after the FIFA World Cup win.
The former Liverpool star claimed that the celebrations were a 'crude gesture' and wrote in his Daily Mail column:
"Much of the debate post World Cup Final has centred on the behaviour of Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez during the penalty shootout. I can accept those antics, to a point. But what we should be talking about more is the crude gesture he made after collecting his goalkeeper of the tournament trophy."
He added:
"Do some people really find that sort of thing funny? Martinez embarrassed himself and he embarrassed his country. He looked like a vulgar clown. If that is what he wants to be remembered for, then God help us all."
Vieira was also critical of the celebrations and said in a press conference:
"When you are talking about the abuse and the comments that he received after the World Cup, I think that is damaging the game and himself. Some of the pictures that I saw from the Argentina goalkeeper took away a little bit from what Argentina achieved at the World Cup. I don't think that they really needed that. You can't control sometimes people's emotions or decisions, but that was a stupid decision from Martinez to do that."
Martinez was seen doing similar celebrations on Thursday night despite the criticism.