‘I condemn Lionel Messi’ – Ex-Chelsea striker says it’s time Argentina captain called out teammates over racist chants

Carlton Cole believes Argentina captain Lionel Messi is 'selfish' for staying silent about his teammates’ racist chanting.

La Albiceleste’s players sparked fury after a live stream showed them singing a ‘racist and discriminatory’ chant on the team bus after their Copa America win.

The song references how many of France's players are of African heritage, with a translated version being: “They play for France, but their parents are from Angola. Their mother is from Cameroon, while their father is from Nigeria. But their passport says French.”

The France Football Federation has said it will lodge a complaint to FIFA over the song.

FIFA are currently investigating the incident.

Meanwhile, Chelsea have begun disciplinary action against Blues midfielder Enzo Fernandez, who posted the chanting on his Instagram. He has since apologised.

However, the Blues player was not the only Argentina international on the bus singing with him.

And talkSPORT pundit and former Chelsea striker Cole believes, despite it not being certain who was and wasn’t singing the chant, there is one player in particular who needs to call out his teammates behaviour - Messi.

He said: “Argentina have got someone who is renowned as probably the best footballer to ever grace the beautiful game - Lionel Messi.

“We've got a look at Messi and you say, you know what, Messi come out. We need to hear you. I need you to. You’ve got to speak up about this.

“Because this is more than Enzo. Messi is the main guy there. He's the captain. He needs to come out and say something about this behaviour.

“Otherwise, it's just like he doesn't care. He doesn’t care how I feel, he doesn’t care how some of his black teammates he’s had in the past feel.

“That just shows me that he's selfish. He needs to come out and say something.

“I condemn him. Simple. I condemn Messi.”

talkSPORT’s South American football correspondent Tim Vickery agreed, saying: “That’s the job as a captain isn’t it. If you’re the captain, you’ve got to lead.

“If there was ever a need for leadership it’s right here, right now, with Argentina.

"So the ball's in his court, there's been nothing so far, and that’s bad.

“Please, please step up Messi. The world is looking at you to do that.”

The Argentinian undersecretary for sport, Julio Garro, lost his job for suggesting Messi should apologise for racist chants sung by the national team.

This was due to president Javier Milei stating ‘no government can tell the Argentina National Team, World Champions and Two-time American Champion, or any other citizen what to comment, what to think or what to do to’.

Meanwhile, Argentina vice-president has defended Fernandez, stating ‘no colonialist country is going to intimidate us for a song on the pitch or for telling the truths they don’t want to admit’.

talkSPORT Drive co-host Darren Bent stated Fernandez will never be looked at in the same way by his Chelsea teammates after condemning the chant live on air.

Frenchman Wesley Fofana, whose father is Ivorian, called his Blues teammate out on social media, posting the clip with the caption ‘Football in 2024: uninhibited racism’.