Kingsley Coman. dpa

France players receive racist abuse online after World Cup final loss

By Zac Wassink | Last updated 12/20/22

Several players for the France men's national team became targets of racist abuse online following the loss to Argentina in the FIFA World Cup final on Sunday.

According to the Associated Press (h/t ESPN) and Jonathan Johnson of CBS Sports, superstar Kylian Mbappe, Kingsley Coman and Aurelien Tchouameni are among footballers who have received racist messages via social media after France fell to Argentina 4-2 on penalties. Coman and Tchouameni failed to convert their spot-kicks in the shootout that ended arguably the greatest final in World Cup history.

"Following the World Cup final, several players from the French team were the subject of unacceptable racist and hateful remarks on social media," the French Football Federation said via a statement. "The FFF condemns them and will file a complaint against those responsible."

On Monday, Bayern Munich, Coman's club, tweeted a message of support for the player:

FC Bayern strongly condemn the racist comments made towards Kingsley Coman.

The FC Bayern family is behind you, King. Racism has no place in sport or our society. pic.twitter.com/9Mvhrt0Zc9
— FC Bayern Munich (@FCBayernEN) December 19, 2022

SOS Racisme, an anti-racism group, said that multiple France players had to disable comments on Instagram after they received "a torrent of racist slurs" and encountered "hundreds of users on the social network posting comments likening them to apes, slaves, or even urging them to go back to the jungle."

The 2022 World Cup is the latest massive men's international tournament to finish with a cloud of racism hovering over it. England stars Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka were all targeted with racist abuse online after the Three Lions lost to Italy on penalties in the final of the UEFA European Championship held in the summer of 2021.

As noted by the AP (h/t ESPN), thousands of adoring fans welcomed the French team back to Paris as heroes on Monday night local time coming off the heartbreaking defeat.

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