Argentina announced that Julio Garro is no longer the country’s Undersecretary of Sport after he called for the Argentina national team captain, Lionel Messi to apologize to the France national team for his teammates’ offensive song about its players.
Chelsea’s Argentinian midfielder Enzo Fernández apologized earlier in the week after he had posted a video on social media following his team’s 1-0 win over Colombia in Sunday’s Copa América final that showed some Argentina players singing offensive chants that singled out France players of African heritage.
The French Football Federation (FFF) said Tuesday it would file a legal complaint. FIFA also said it was looking into the incident.
“I think the captain [Messi] of the national team and AFA [Argentina Football Association’s] president [Claudio Tapia] should come out and apologise for this case,” Garro told Argentinian radio Urbano Play.
“It is fitting. It [controversy] leaves us in a bad light with so much glory.”
The office of Argentina’s president Javier Milei issued a statement on X and wrote: “The President’s Office reports that no government can tell what to comment, what to think or what to do to the Argentina National Team, World Champion and Two-time American Champion, or to any other citizen. For this reason, Julio Garro ceases to be Undersecretary of Sports of the Nation.”
Garro later thanked Milei for allowing him to be a part of his team and wrote on X: “I am very sorry if my comment offended anyone, that was never my intention, and that is why I made my resignation available, although I will always be on the other side of discrimination in all its forms.”
Fernandez’s club, Chelsea, meanwhile, condemned all discriminatory behaviour, and started an internal disciplinary procedure over the offensive chants.
