- A former Premier League star has called out Argentine captain Lionel Messi
- He insisted that the 37-year-old must speak out after the Copa America controversy
- A video shared online of Argentina’s celebrations has sparked a storm of racism
A former Premier League striker has urged Lionel Messi to speak out following Argentina’s controversial Copa America celebrations.
After La Albiceleste defeated Colombia in extra time to secure back-to-back wins in the competition last week, images of their subsequent celebrations went viral on social media.
Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez live-streamed some of the celebrations on his Instagram account and then came under fire when players were heard singing a controversial song.
The chant, which originated around Argentina’s victory over France at the 2022 World Cup, claims that French players are “from Angola” or have a “Nigerian” mother and a “Cameroonian” father.
Although the team returned to Buenos Aires after the final, Argentine captain Lionel Messi is said to have remained in Miami and was not present on the bus when the controversial incident occurred.
Lionel Messi has been called upon to condemn his Argentina teammates following the racism controversy at the Copa America
Enzo Fernández was photographed singing the chant on the Argentina bus during their celebrations.
However, former Chelsea and West Ham striker Carlton Cole has insisted the Inter Miami star must take responsibility and condemn the actions of his teammates.
“Argentina has someone who is recognized as probably the greatest footballer to ever play the beautiful game: Lionel Messi,” Cole said. talkSPORT.
“We’ve seen Messi and you say, you know what, Messi is going out. We need to listen to you. I need you to do it. You have to talk about this.
‘Because this is more than Enzo. Messi is the main man there. He is the captain. He has to come out and say something about this behaviour.
‘Otherwise, it’s like he doesn’t care. He doesn’t care how I feel, he doesn’t care how some of his black peers that he’s had in the past feel.
“That shows me he’s selfish. He needs to come out and say something.
“I condemn it. Simple. I condemn Messi.”
Chelsea are carrying out their own investigation into the incident after Fernandez found himself at the centre of the storm.
Former Chelsea and West Ham star Carlton Cole has branded Messi “selfish” for not publicly calling out his teammates
The 23-year-old has since apologised in a social media post, claiming he “got carried away by the euphoria of our celebrations”.
His Blues teammate Wesley Fofana, who is French and the son of an Ivorian father, criticised the video and took to X (formerly Twitter) to share the video with the caption: “Football in 2024: Uninhibited racism.”