Julijo Carro, Argentina’s undersecretary for sports, has called on the Argentine football federation and Lionel Messi to apologise on behalf of his teammates for singing a racially offensive song about the French national team, before later taking to social media to retract his comments. Argentina
are under investigation by FIFA after Enzo Fernandez live-streamed his Copa America triumph celebrations in which parts of the French player sang racial and sexual abuse chants
during the final in the United States. Messi, 37, suffered a swollen ankle ligament injury and was reportedly not on the same bus as the incident.
“I think the captain of the national team should apologize for this, as should the president of the football federation,” Carro said during a show on local http://ufabet999.app radio station Urbana Play.
“It is inappropriate behavior and it makes a country look bad, when we are achieving great success. At the same time, I think It is an opportunity for us to show the standard that we set for the whole world.”
After the interview was published, Carlo faced a backlash, with Ramiro Marra, a Buenos Aires city councilor and one of President Javier Mille’s advisers, disagreeing.
“A two-time Copa America winner, a World Champion and the best footballer in history, does not need to apologize to anyone. Let them continue to cry for a simple football song,” Argentine newspaper
La Nacion reported. Marra deleted the post within minutes. However, Carro, who came up with the idea of making Messi apologize, has had a change of heart, writing on social media:
“I completely refuse to ask Messi to apologize. Doing so is disrespectful to the people who have always respected us, our humanity and our football qualities.”