Liverpool star Alexis Mac Allister insists his Argentina teammate Enzo Fernandez is ‘not racist’ but needs to be ‘very careful’ amid the scandal revolving around the Chelsea star.
Fernandez filmed himself and some of his Argentina teammates in a live Instagram video singing a racist song about France’s players following their victory over Colombia in the Copa America final last Sunday evening.
Chelsea and FIFA have since opened an investigation into the incident, with several Blues players condemning the midfielder’s actions, including Wesley Fofana and David Datro Fofana.
The 23-year-old, who holds the British transfer record, has apologised publicly and privately to his club teammates.
The scandal has completely overshadowed Argentina’s Copa America triumph, while several of the country’s players, past and present, have rushed to the defence of Fernandez.
Mac Allister was among several notable players, including Lionel Messi and Lisandro Martinez, who were not on the team bus where the incident took place.
Breaking his silence on the matter, the Liverpool midfielder attempted to defend his teammate, telling Argentine radio station Urbana Play: ‘You have to be careful with what you say or do, especially in Europe where they are much more sensitive than here.
‘The reality is that we are not a racist country, we are not used to talking about racism so much. Yes, it’s a very important topic, obviously.
‘Enzo has already apologised and explained what happened. I don’t think there’s much more to say.
‘We know Enzo, we know he would never do it with bad intentions, he’s not that guy, he’s not racist. It’s just a chant that got stuck and is more of a mocking tone than anything else.
‘But, as I said, you have to be very careful. I think the most important thing is that Enzo came out, gave the corresponding apologies, and that, in the end, should be valued.’
During Fernandez’s broadcast, Argentina’s players could be heard singing the first two lines of the song: ‘On passport, French nationality, listen, spread the word, they play in France, but they are all…’, before someone is heard saying, ‘cut the video’.
The racist and transphobic chant, which was first sung by Argentina supporters during the 2022 World Cup, claims that France’s players are ‘all from Angola’ and makes a vile reference to a reported relationship between Kylian Mbappe and transgender model Ines Rau.
The full lyrics to the song are: ‘Listen, spread the word, they play in France, but they are all from Angola, they are going to run well, they like to sleep with trans people, their mum is Nigerian, their dad is Cameroonian, but on the passport it says: French.’
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