In an interview published on Friday by the daily Ouest-France, Le Graet said he had written a letter to the president of the Argentine Football Association (AFA), Claudio Tapia because he finds “these excesses abnormal in the setting of a sporting competition” and does not “understand them”.
Abnormal taunts against Mbappe
The president of the French Football Federation (FFF), Noel Le Graet, has complained in a letter to his Argentine counterpart about “abnormal” taunts by his players against Kylian Mbappe during World Cup final victory celebrations in Qatar. In an interview published on Friday by the daily Ouest-France, Le Graet said he had written a letter to the president of the Argentine Football Association (AFA), Claudio Tapia because he finds “these excesses abnormal in the setting of a sporting competition” and does not “understand them”. “It goes too far. Mbappe’s behaviour has been exemplary,” he continued. After the match, Argentine goalkeeper Emi Martinez mocked him in the dressing room, asking for “a minute’s silence” for Mbappe and during the bus parade in Buenos Aires, he carried a dummy with a picture of the French star on his face.
France’s sports minister also condemned the Argentinians’ behaviour
The Argentine goalkeeper even continued his taunts during a celebration in his homeland of Mar del Plata on Thursday when, in front of 100,000 people, he said France’s Aurelien Tchouameni “sh”*t himself” before taking one of the shootout penalties. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire had already called in a radio interview for FIFA to investigate the “undignified” insults made by Argentine footballers against French players. “These are unworthy insults, and what does FIFA do? Sport is a matter of fair play and showing respect for others, showing respect for the losers as well,” said Le Maire. Amelie Oudea-Castera, France’s sports minister, also condemned the Argentinians’ behaviour in an interview.
“Noel Le Graet is doing exactly that; he has asked his counterpart, Claudio Tapia, for explanations. I find it regrettable the way this Argentinian team acted after this victory is not worthy of the match we saw. These are inappropriate comments,” Oudea-Castera concludes.
“I reacted immediately when the chants of the Argentinian fans included racist attacks on some of our players, such as Coman. There was also some inappropriate taunting of Tchouameni, which is just vulgar. They are ungraceful winners. There is inappropriate taunting and unacceptable racism. I am glad that Le Graet has lodged a complaint and is taking this step with his counterpart. Emiliano Martinez does not stand out; he is quite pathetic. I spoke to Kylian Mbappe on the plane home, and he has some way to go about this. The best answer is to get back on the pitch and get the ball rolling.”