Messy's plea for sportsmanship after controversial Copa win

After the 2024 Copa America final, the scandalous chant directed at the French garnered as much, if not more, attention than Argentina's victory. Lionel Messi wanted to prevent this controversy.

Argentina won their third consecutive football tournament. The Albicelestes defended their Copa America trophy, and in between, they also triumphed in the World Cup in Qatar in 2022. Lionel Scaloni's team defeated Colombia 1-0 in the final, thanks to Lautaro Martinez's overtime goal.

After the final, a recording featuring Enzo Fernandez went viral online. One of the Argentinians lost his composure and started insulting the French with a vulgar chant. Enzo Fernandez, among other team members, participated, but he faced criticism for the chant, which included racist elements.

Lionel Messi wanted to prevent such scandals. One of his loyal comrades, Rodrigo De Paul, revealed in an interview with the program OLGA that the multiple Ballon d’Or winner made a statement in the locker room after the victory over Colombia.

When the final ended, Messi came and the first thing he said was, ‘nobody taunts anyone, let’s celebrate and enjoy our victory - recalls Rodrigo De Paul.

They always find something against the winner. Whether it’s that we got help, or that we taunt others, or that it’s not such a good team, or that South America is less developed than Europe, we didn’t see any fuss about that when they say those things about us. All these things are said to discredit what we’ve achieved - defends through attack Rodrigo De Paul.

The scandal casts a shadow on the success of the Argentine national team, which will also play in the 2026 World Cup with Lionel Messi. The world football star will participate in the World Cup for the last time.