Hugo Lloris: “What happened in Argentina was an attack on the French”

Argentina players cannot use the euphoria of their Copa América victory as an excuse for their racist chants about the French team, according to the former France captain. Hugo Llorisadding that the song was an “attack on the French people.”

A video posted by Argentina international Enzo Fernández on Instagram after his team beat Colombia 1-0 in Sunday’s final featured a song sung by several members of the Argentine team about France’s players of African descent. .

FIFA is investigating the video after the French Football Federation (FFF) called it “racist and discriminatory.” Chelsea, the Premier League club where Fernández plays, has also started internal disciplinary proceedings over the matter. Fernández later apologized for the video, saying that he was caught up in the euphoria of the celebrations and that the song did not reflect his beliefs or character in his fight against discrimination.

“It doesn’t matter if you are in a moment of euphoria because you won an important trophy,” Lloris told the BBC on Thursday. “It takes more responsibility when you’re a winner.” “We are all against discrimination and racism. I just think and I hope it was a mistake. We all make mistakes sometimes and I hope they learn from it.”

Argentina’s vice president, Victoria Villarruel, defended Fernández and the team and the country’s undersecretary of sports, Julio Garro, was fired from his position for suggesting captain Lionel Messi apologize for the chants.

Lloris, who is France’s most-capped player and its 2018 World Cup-winning captain, said Argentina deserved credit for what it had achieved in the sport in recent years, becoming “the face of world football”. . “You (Argentine players) are an example for others, especially for children. This is a real attack against the French, especially for the French who have some origins and families in Africa ,” he says.