Anti-Argentine Olympics? The whistles and boos are heard in Paris

The booing, whistling and hostility against Argentina are making themselves felt in Paris, creating an unprecedented climate of rejection for the Olympic Games. The incidents that took place in two situations demonstrated the existence of anti-Argentine sentiment: the football match against Morocco and the rugby sevens match against France, the host country of the competition.

One of the most awkward and tense moments occurred at the Saint-Etienne stadium during the debut of the national team he manages. Javier Mascherano. At the start, the Argentine anthem was met with expressions of repudiation, but everything got out of hand when, in the final stage, Argentina came close to tying the match after losing 2-0.

Between the goal of Julian Simeon and that of Christian Medinaa child entered the field and projectiles flew near the Argentine players. From one moment to the next the situation quickly escalated: Moroccan fans invaded the field and the match was suspended. After one hour and forty minutes, the teams resumed the match, but Medina was charged with an offside position and his goal was disallowed. “It was just a small moment of confusion,” the French Minister of Sport later assessed. Amélie Oudéa-Castéra.

The events raised the level of alert and it soon became clear that the aggression was not limited to football, a discipline where this month, after the Copa America victory, a conflict was generated with France from a racist and homophobic chant led by the midfielder. Enzo FernandezIn rugby sevens, another popular sport in France, the Argentine players were also greeted with whistles. The rejection was unavoidable. One of the leaders of the Pumas 7s, Joaquin Pellandinisaid that the “stadium was against him”: “it seems like they are all anti-Argentina.”

The historical and sporting context plays an important role

The protests against the sky blue and white flag seem inevitably connected to the wounds generated by the final of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, when La Scaloneta beat the French team in one of the closest finals ever. That confrontation triggered the discriminatory song chanted by Fernández after the last continental title. The lyrics of that chant mock the sexual preferences of the scorer. Kylian Mbappé and African influences on the French national team.

Amid the controversy, the Argentine vice president Victoria Villarruel He poured alcohol on the fire by questioning France’s colonial past on his X profile (formerly Twitter). The tweet forced Karina Mileithe president’s sister Javier Mileyto present an apology at the French Embassy And although the Milei brothers traveled to the opening ceremony of the Paris Games and there was a bilateral meeting with the president Emmanuel Macronthe spirits did not calm down in the street. Argentina faces an adverse environment unusual for a country loved worldwide thanks to athletes like Diego Maradona y Lionel Messi.

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