France meet Argentina for a potential grudge match in Bordeaux as the men’s Olympics football quarter-finals take place today, August 2, 2024.
There has been recent animosity between the teams after Argentina players were filmed singing a derogatory song about France’s black players in the aftermath of winning the Copa America on 14 July.
It was similar to a song sung by Argentina fans during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar – a tournament in which the South Americans went on to beat France in the final.
At the Olympics, Argentina’s rugby sevens players have been booed in each of their games by the home French fans.
“With everything that has happened recently, everyone in France was affected, so we will see what happens in the quarter-finals,” said Jean-Philippe Mateta, who captained France in their win against New Zealand.
After beating Colombia 1-0 in the Copa America final in July, several members of the Argentina squad were filmed singing a song questioning the heritage of France’s black and mixed-race players.
Argentina fans had sung a song which was described as both racist and homophobic about France’s players at the last World Cup.
The rivalry grew when Argentina beat France on penalties in a thrilling final – with Kylian Mbappe’s hat-trick having been only enough for Les Bleus to earn a 3-3 draw.
After that December 2022 game, footage emerged from the Argentina dressing room of the players singing “a minute’s silence for” and goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez shouting “for Mbappe who is dead”.
At their celebrations back in Argentina, Aston Villa’s Martinez held a toy baby with Mbappe’s face on, while fans had a coffin lid with a picture of the forward which they set on fire. Those issues were stirred up again after Argentina’s Copa America final win.
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