FC Barcelona legend believes racist video from Argentina players was taken 'out of context'

The Argentine Olympic football team's coach, Javier Mascherano, claimed on July 17 that a clip that purportedly showed racist chants made by players after their team clinched the Copa America 2024 had been "taken out of context." Following the Copa America 2024 triumph against Colombia in Miami on July 14, midfielder Enzo Fernandez of Chelsea and Argentina captured the shouts on camera and shared them on social media.

Javier Mascherano while at the Argentina base camp in France ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics said, “Argentines, if there’s one thing we’re not, it’s racists, far from that. I know Enzo, he’s a great guy. He doesn’t have any problems like that.”

The former FC Barcelona legend added, “Often, as part of a celebration, you can take part of a video and take it out of context. If there’s one thing we are as a country, it’s a totally inclusive country. People from all over the world live in Argentina and we treat them as they should be treated.”

The former Liverpool midfielder added that it might be a cultural misunderstanding and that can happen from time to time. He said, “Sometimes you have to understand the culture of each country, and sometimes what we perceive as a joke can be misinterpreted elsewhere. Enzo also made it known on social media that he apologised. Sometimes people try to make things much bigger than they are.”

FIFA set to begin a probe into allegedly racist chants by Argentina players.

FIFA announced earlier on July 17 that it would launch an investigation regarding the chant, which originated with Argentina's victory over France during the 2022 FIFA World Cup final. The song contains homophobic remarks and is directed towards Kylian Mbappe, the top striker for France and is a native of Africa.

A spokesperson from FIFA said in a statement regarding the incident that, “Fifa strongly condemns any form of discrimination by anyone including players, fans and officials.”