Enzo Fernández, Argentina and the Wider Problem of Racism in Football

Following their 1-0 victory over Colombia in the Copa América final, Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernández and his Argentine teammates have been caught up in controversy following racist and transphobic chants on an Instagram live stream. Whilst being completely unprofessional, discriminatory and incomprehensible in the modern age, it opens up a constantly repeated topic: how do we end racism in football?

Background to the Outrage

Firstly, I need to make abundantly clear that this topic requires extensive academic research to support my opinion. During this article, I will be relying on my own judgement, light historic information, as well as incorporating football examples into my analysis. I highly encourage undertaking academic and wider reading on the topic, of which I will be doing myself in the near future.

The video, recorded by Fernández on the team bus after their record-breaking Copa América win, sees the Argentine and teammates chanting about the French team not being "French" and all hailing from Africa. In addition, the song includes a transphobic remark that potentially hints to Kylian Mbappé's possible previous relationship with a transgender woman.

What I find puzzling is why the Argentina squad are even talking about France and immigration or transgender people, it's completely irrelevant to a Latin American tournament. It was completely unnecessary, yet alarming that Fernández deemed it an appropriate time to start a live stream to fans when the song came on.

It raises a concerning perspective, that Fernández and some of his teammates deemed racism and transphobia an appropriate thing to do. For anyone who lives in the modern world, there is no defining way a person should be or how they belong to a certain group. We are a diverse community and should be proud of differences, rather than trying to stick to rigid colonial ideals of how people should look from different countries.

Argentina's History with Indigenous Populations and Immigration

It is rather remarkable that the Argentina national football team deem their chant appropriate, disregarding their own country's ethnically diverse history. Prior to the arrival of Los Conquistadores, Argentina was host to a wide array of indigenous populations.

Following centuries of discrimination, displacement, marginalisation and extermination, the indigenous populations were drastically reduced. The likes of the Conquest of the Deserts in the 1870s saw over 1300 indigenous people die, laying the groundwork for the policy of invisibilisation, promoted by the government in the second half of the 19th century and early 20th century. From the mid-20th century onwards, due to ethnographers research and a change in government policies, indigenous people became more recognised. Yet, their population numbers show the devastating effect since the arrival of Los Conquistadores. In 1778, they made up 22.33% of the Argentine population. Compared with 2022 where they only make up 2.83% (of course, one must consider a growing population as well). However, they still face racism, with many forced to hide their true ethnicity due to receiving discriminatory abuse or disadvantages stemming from racism (e.g. unable to own land).

Moreover, Argentina have been wide recipients of waves of immigrants from Europe and North America. Combining this with the indigenous history, most Argentines are descendants of either Europeans, indigenous or African descent. It raises the question, how can you even think of saying racist remarks when you are part of a nation built upon immigration and indigenousness?

Racism: An issue that has not been stopped

Despite attempts to highlight racism in football and educate viewers and players, the problem seems to not have been stifled. In a recent pre-season game, Wolves forward Hwang Hee-Chan suffered a racist remark by a Como player. The remark saw Daniel Podence sent off for throwing a punch in the aftermath.

The South Korean also received racist abuse in a 2022 pre-season friendly against SC Farense. 2 years apart and the same player is being affected by racist remarks shows that there is still much work to be done in football ad outside the sport.

In a globalised, diverse and multi-ethnic world, it is striking that racism is still rife in football. It clearly shows that highlighting the issue in football cannot be the sole way to prevent the problem. Clear education is needed in schools and towards adults who perhaps grew up in a different environment which accepted racism. Cultural awareness needs to be increased to give marginalised and minoritised voices a chance to speak about their communities' suffering, shedding light on painful pasts.

Indeed a contrasting set of emotions for Argentina following this scandal despite their Copa América win, the nation needs to look at itself and see what it can do to improve ethnic, cultural and racial acceptance in the modern age.

For Enzo Fernández, many of his Chelsea teammates have unfollowed him, including Wesley Fofana's post on Instagram of "uninhibited racism". A manufactured response from Fernández, like he/his team produced, will not be enough. The Argentine needs to seriously consider his actions, why he did it and actively seek assistance in understanding why he thinks chants of racism are ok. The next few weeks will be pivotal for Maresca and Chelsea as they seek to create calm before a crucial season ahead for the club.