France may contact Argentina sports minister over fans' World Cup taunts

23.12.2022 - 11:13 channelnewsasia.com

PARIS : French sports minister Amelie Oudea-Castera said she may contact her Argentine counterpart over the "vulgar" taunting of France forward Kylian Mbappe by some Argentina fans in Buenos Aires as they celebrated the return of the World Cup winners.During Argentina's jubilant homecoming, a group of fans set alight a makeshift coffin lid adorned with a cross and picture of Mbappe, while Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez clutched a toy baby with Mbappe's face on it during an open-top bus parade through the capital.

Images of both went viral on social media.Oudea-Castera told RTL Radio she was looking at the issue."I am not ruling out discussing this with my counterpart," she said, adding that France's soccer body had also written to Claudio Tapia, president of the Argentine Football Association (AFA), over the affair."I find all of this quite pitiful," she added.The Argentine Embassy in Paris did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the matter.

Football Sporting minister cup Emiliano Martinez Kylian Mbappe Amelie Oudea-Castera France Argentina Buenos Aires Paris

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France may contact Argentina sports minister over fans' World Cup taunts

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PARIS: French Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera on Friday accused Argentine players of being “inelegant winners” and “vulgar” for mocking her country’s star Kylian Mbappe after winning the World Cup final.“As much as our French team knew how to lose with panache, so the manner in which this Argentine team acted after this victory was not worthy of the match we saw,” the minister told French radio station RTL.Oudea-Castera singled out goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, who was seen in the victory parade in Buenos Aires holding a baby doll its face covered with a photo of French star Mbappe.Immediately after the match had been heard in the Argentina changing room demanding: “A minute of silence... for Mbappe.”Mbappe scored a hat-trick as France twice fought back to take the game to a shootout and then beat Martinez with the opening kick.“I find it pitiful,” said Oudea-Castera.“It’s just vulgar, inappropriate, really not up to the occasion,” she said“This Emiliano Martinez is not distinguishing himself.