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Paris (AFP) – French Sports Minister Amelie Odia-Castierra considered on Friday that the behavior of the Argentine players following winning the 2022 World Cup in Qatar was “inappropriate” and “marketable”, following the ridicule of the “roosters” Kylian Mbappe, especially goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.
“As much as our French team knew how to lose brilliantly, the way this Argentine team behaved following winning was not worthy of the match we watched,” the minister told French radio “RTL”.
Odia-Castierra singled out the mention of the Argentine goalkeeper Martinez, who was seen in the celebration procession in Buenos Aires carrying a doll and her face covered with a picture of Mbappe.
Immediately following the match, a call for a “minute of silence… for Mbappe” was heard from the Argentina dressing room.
Mbappe scored a hat-trick in the final, in which France came back from behind twice, before losing to “Albiceleste” on penalties, in which Mbappe scored his opening kick once morest Martinis.
“I find it pathetic,” the French minister said. “It is vulgar, inappropriate and not up to the occasion.” She added, “This Emiliano Martinez does not distinguish himself, but rather he is pathetic.”
She was pleased that the president of the French Football Federation, Noel Le Graet, had written to his Argentine counterpart, complaining of “abnormal excesses” in the celebrations.
The French Federation also announced that it intends to file complaints once morest French fans who posted racist comments on social media, following Kingsley Coman and Aurelien Choameni missed two penalties, while Randal Kolo Mwani missed an opportunity in the last breaths of extra time.
© 2022 AFP
