Argentina's government announced on Wednesday night that it had ousted Julio Garro from his position as Sports undersecretary in the wake of the on going racist chant row with France.
Garro sparked controversy this week when he suggested that the nation's football team and skipper Lionel Messi should apologise to the French Football Federation for a racist and homophobic song broadcast on social media.
The chant was heard during a live video posted on social media by Chelsea and Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernández from the team bus in the wake of Argentina's Copa América victory over Colombia in Miami earlier this month.
The French Football Federation (FFF) says it will lodge a complaint with FIFA and take legal action and football's governing body has now opened an investigation.
Garro echoed the concerns and called for the nation's representatives to issue a formal apology. But that suggestion has gone down like a lead balloon with President Javier Milei, who promptly fired him.
“No government can tell the world champions and double champion of the Americas what to comment, what to think or what to do," said the President's Office in a statement on the X social media network.
"For this reason, Garro is no longer Sports undersecretary,” it informed.
Garro had called for Messi to issue an apology following the controversy in a radio interview, during which he agreed with an interviewer that an expression of regret for the incident was appropriate.
Fernández issued an apology this week.
“I believe the captain of the team should apologise, as should the president of the AFA Argentine Football Association. I think it would be the proper thing to do and I agree with you, it’s something that makes the country look bad with so much glory and it would be good to make an example of this,” Garro had said in a radio interview.
The now former official walked back those remarks later, stating he had fallen short of calling for an apology.
“I categorically deny I have asked Messi for an apology. It would be disrespectful to someone who constantly honours us with his human and sporting quality,” he said, even though a video with his earlier remarks was soon trending on social media.
Garro reasserted that his opinions were personal and did not reflect the government’s official position: “I said it personally and in good faith, not on behalf of the government."
One of the harshest critics of the official was Daniel Parisini, one of Milei’s so-called “trolls” who is better known on social media as “GordoDan (Fat Dan),”
Parisini, a current employee of the Digital Communication Undersecretariat, slammed Garro for hypocrisy saying he had "said it on air."
--TIMES/PERFIL
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