“That just shows me that he’s selfish”: Ex-Chelsea star condemns Lionel Messi after Enzo Fernandez racism row
Former Chelsea forward Carlton Cole has blasted Lionel Messi for staying silent after Enzo Fernandez and several other stars from the Argentina national team sang racist chants directed at France.
The incident occurred on Sunday, July 14, after Argentina clinched the 2024 Copa America with a 1-0 win against Colombia. Several Argentina stars, excluding Lionel Messi, celebrated on the team bus afterward, with Enzo Fernandez streaming on Instagram Live.
The chants were a direct attack on the French players, with a translated version being (via talkSPORT):
“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.”
Enzo Fernandez took to social media to apologize for his role in the incident, but Argentina skipper and icon Lionel Messi has yet to address his teammates who were on the bus. From the aforementioned source, Cole said:
“Argentina have got someone who is renowned as probably the best footballer to ever grace the beautiful game - Lionel Messi. We've got a look at Messi and you say, you know what, Messi come out. We need to hear you. I need you to. You’ve got to speak up about this."
He added:
“Because this is more than Enzo. Messi is the main guy there. He's the captain. He needs to come out and say something about this behaviour. Otherwise, it's just like he doesn't care. He doesn’t care how I feel, he doesn’t care how some of his black teammates he’s had in the past feel."
“That just shows me that he's selfish. He needs to come out and say something. I condemn him. Simple. I condemn Messi.”
In addition, Argentina's deputy sports minister Julio Garrio also demanded that Lionel Messi and Argentine Football Federation president Claudio Tapia publicly apologize for the chants. However, the nation's president, Javier Milei, quickly sacked Garrio for his comments.
"Nobody is going to pick on anyone" - Rodrigo De Paul reveals what Lionel Messi told Argentina squad before Enzo Fernandez incident
Argentina midfielder Rodrigo De Paul recently revealed that Lionel Messi warned the national team not to taunt others before Enzo Fernandez and Co. aimed racist chants at France.
As per De Paul, Messi first advised his teammates on this following their 1-0 win against Brazil during the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers last November.
De Paul told Clarin (via GOAL):
"Leo didn't let us sing songs to Brazil on the pitch because he knows how everything works. Then in the hotel, in private, it's a different story and he gets on top of the table."
He then revealed what Lionel Messi said following their Copa America triumph last Sunday:
"On the Colombian side they said that Messi and [Angel Di Maria] were no longer the same and we wanted to go and look for them as soon as we won. Leo told us: 'Nobody is going to pick on anyone, now we are going to celebrate'."
On Fernandez's chants, he added:
"Enzo's thing is because one doesn't analyse the song on the pitch, it's pure chicanery. I understand that there are people who suffer racism and other issues."
"I think they could have sent him a private message and told him directly. You call him and tell him that it might bother you, you don't stop following him and you put on such a show. The song is because we were there, people sing it too."
Chelsea have started disciplinary action against Enzo Fernandez while FIFA are currently investigating the incident.