France vs. Spain: A Match Worth Watching

 

I’ve been immune to World Cup fever this year. My son, on the other hand, has watched almost every game. I’m sure Qatar vs. Switzerland was thrilling if you’re Qatari or Swiss, but it didn’t do much for me. Watching with friends, I’ll admit France vs. Morocco was genuinely exciting, mostly thanks to Morocco’s goalkeeper, who was outstanding even in a 2-0 loss. I was looking forward to Norway vs. England given all the hype, but it turned out to be a snooze, and I switched over to a baseball game instead.

But even I will be tuning in for France vs. Spain, thanks to the controversy stirred up by former Spanish foreign prime minister Mariano Rajoy, who claimed the French national team plays “without Frenchmen.” His remark targeted the African heritage of the French players, implying the team doesn’t reflect a “genuine” French identity and quickly drew accusations of racism. Yet of the 26 players on the French roster for the tournament, only three were born outside France: Michael Olise, born in London to a British-Nigerian father and a French-Algerian mother; Marcus Thuram, born in Parma while his father, French football legend Lilian Thuram, was playing in Italy; and Brice Samba, born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 

I guess that Rajoy doesn’t realize that not all of Spain’s players are ethnic Castilians. One, Aymeric Laporte was born in France and is a naturalized Spanish citizen. Another, Robin Le Normand was also born in France. Also there are three players of color on the Spanish team: Nico Williams (Ghanaian refugee parents), Lamine Yamal (Moroccan and Equatoguinean descent) and Yeremy Pino (born in Las Palmas, Canary Islands). Rajoy is clearly a fool as well as a bigot.

One member of the Spanish squad pushed back on Rajoy’s comments, calling for tolerance: “If they play for the French national team then at the end of the day they are French, regardless of the color of their skin, because ultimately we have to be tolerant with everyone. The color of their skin doesn’t matter because we are all people and we all deserve respect.” Rajoy caught plenty of criticism inside Spain too. Transport Minister Óscar Puente called him a “dim-witted, post-Francoist crook.”

However, Rajoy wasn’t the only one making racially charged comments about the French squad. Argentine politician Hebe Casado described the French as an “African team” and Paraguayan Senator Celeste Amarilla questioned Kylian Mbappé’s French identity after Paraguay lost to France. Amarilla went further, calling Mbappé — the French captain and star — a “colonized Cameroonian who has really pretended to be French, embittered, nouveau riche, arrogant and ugly,” and claimed he was “scared to death” during the match. 

Wow!

Mbappé responded directly, calling her comments unacceptable and criticizing her conduct as a public official.

“Madame Celeste Amarilla, You are a despicable woman who is unworthy of your position. You do not represent Paraguay, a country that demonstrated passion and honor throughout the competition. Because of your irresponsibility and blatant racism, the entire world has already forgotten the historic journey and effort your players made during this World Cup, and instead now associates your country with an incompetent woman who has given it the worst possible image. I will never allow people like you the freedom to spread their hatred and racism throughout the world.”

French President Emmanuel Macron also weighed in, condemning the racist attacks aimed at his team’s captain: “The President of the Republic stands with Kylian Mbappé and the French team in the face of the racist attacks directed at the Bleus’ captain.”

But the best line came from Olivier Faure, leader of France’s Socialist Party, who posted:

“The French team consists only of French people. France is not an ethnic nation; it has no skin color or religion. It is a political nation united around the republican motto. Much to the dismay of the racist right.”

France and Spain kick off today, July 14, at 3 PM — and I’ll be watching.