Argentina fired their deputy sports minister, Julio Garro, for suggesting that Lionel Messi should apologize for his teammates singing a racist and homophobic song aimed at France after their Copa America victory on Sunday.
Following a 1-0 win over Colombia in the 2024 Copa America final, midfielder Enzo Fernandez livestreamed himself and teammates singing the discriminatory song on the team bus.
Amid the backlash, under-secretary of sport Garro spoke on the issue, a decision that would backfire right away.
According to the Daily Mail, Garro appeared on radio station Urbana Play and suggested Messi apologize for his team’s actions. Hours later, he was sacked by Argentina president Javier Milei.
“The Office of the President states that no government has the right to tell the Argentine national team, world champions and double Copa America champions, or any other citizen, what to comment, what to think and what to do,” Milei’s official social media accounts stated.
“That is why Julio Garro ceases to be the under-secretary of sport.”
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Garro responded to the video by saying: “I think [Messi] should come out and offer the appropriate apologies, as should the Argentine Football Federation president [Claudio Tapia].”
He added that the incident ‘leaves Argentina looking bad as a country’ and that it would be good to ‘make an example out of this’.
The song being sang in the video mocked France’s players for their African heritage. After the immediate adverse reaction from fans, Fernandez issued an apology on social media.
“I want to apologize sincerely for a video posted on my Instagram channel during the national team celebrations,’ he wrote.
“The song includes highly offensive language and there is absolutely no excuse for these words,’ Fernandez continued. ‘I stand against discrimination in all forms and apologize for getting caught up in the euphoria of our Copa America celebrations.
“That video, that moment, those words, do not reflect my beliefs or my character. I am truly sorry.”
6 Comments
Fifa should enforce strict laws against racism…..
Imagine sacking a minster for saying the right thing.. I will blame fifa for all these.. if there are scape goats all these will stop
Kudos to Mr. Julio Garro for having the courage to take a stand for what is right.
Firing him for this reason is madness and utter injustice.
Freedom of speech and freewill are universal rights of all humans, including Argentine citizens.
But there is also an expectation that this freedom will exist within the confines of propriety.
What the Argentine players did was wrong. This is racial hatred, and if FIFA is really serious about kicking racism out of football, then this trespass can not be overlooked.
Argentina must be subjected to appropriate punitive measures.
On a positive note, it’s good to know that the nation of Argentina is not entirely comprised of RACIST XENOPHOBES. They still have individuals like Julio Garro. There is still a little bit of decency left in that country.
Do you know this Garro? He could be doing just lip service.
Lip service how? What do you expect from a deluded president, a loner for that matter. Garro i hail you. Argentines are just pure racist
I’m not saying Garro is a saint, and has no skeletons in his cupboard.
But I do know that he DID NOT have to take this stand.
He could have just let it slide, swept it under the carpet, BUT HE DIDN’T.
To me, that speaks volumes about his character.
Garro stood up against racism in soccer. He will be counted as an anti- xenophobic leader.
We all know the racist history of Argentina. Sickening.