France duo racially abused after World Cup defeat

Sports Tuesday 20/December/2022 17:24 PM
By: Times News Service
France duo racially abused  after World Cup defeat

MUSCAT: Racism in football is, unfortunately, a ubiquitous phenomenon, and Black players are targeted around the world, whether in amateur or professional leagues, and now, even the World Cup final has not been spared.

Soon after the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 final ended with Argentina edging past France 4-2 in a penalty shootout to lift the World Cup for the third time, racism reared its ugly head as reports emerged that French players, Kingsley Coman and Aurelien Tchouameni, were subjected to online racist abuse following their penalty misses in the final on December 18.

France had made a comeback after being 2-0 down with KylianMbappe scoring a hat-trick, two from penalty spot and one from open play, to force the match into a penalty shootout with the teams locked in a 3-3 stalemate after regulation and extra time.

Lionel Messi scored two of Argentina’s goal while Angel di Maria scored the other.

In the shootout, Coman’s shot was saved by goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez while Tchouameni dragged his shot wide. These two misses proved decisive as Argentina ended their 36-year wait for the World Cup title.

Coman’s club Bayern Munich condemned the racial abuses, posting, “FC Bayern strongly condemn the racist comments made towards Kingsley Coman. The FC Bayern family is behind you, King. Racism has no place in sport or our society.”

The issue of racism has been strongly condemned by FIFA and national football federations and various steps have been taken to eradicate the scourge of racism.

Last year, England players Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford and Jordan Sancho were also targeted with racial insults online after they missed penalty kicks for England in the decisive Euro 2020 shootout against Italy, prompting the English Football Association to issue a statement condemning the language used against the players.

Following the online abuse on various social media platforms, another phenomenon was on display: Coman as well as his teammate AurelienTchouameni also received a lot of encouragement.

The majority of users apparently preferred not to remain silent, but to confront hate and racism directly. "Cheer up, King!" can be read in the comments, and "No need to be ashamed.... you are our heroes, no matter what". Hearts and France's national flag were posted as a sign of support. As one user put it: "If he wins, he's French. If not he's African."

Encouragement for Coman came from elsewhere, too. Bayern Munich CEO Oliver Kahn offered a big compliment via Twitter. The French runners-up could all be "proud." Now it's a matter of "getting back up and moving on," Kahn wrote. (With inputs from agencies)