The French Football Federation (FFF) has condemned the online racist abuse directed towards its players and pledged to take action after they were targeted as the team lost to Argentina on penalties in Sunday’s World Cup final in Qatar.
French government officials had expressed their indignation following the online attacks, with Isabelle Rome, the minister in charge of gender equality, saying Kylian Mbappe and Kingsley Coman were among those abused.
The BBC reported that midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni who, along with Coman, missed a penalty in the decisive shootout, was also targeted.
Argentina keeper Emiliano Martinez saved Coman’s effort from the spot, while Tchouameni shot wide as France failed to retain the title they won in 2018.
“Following the World Cup final, several players of the French national team were subjected to unacceptable racist and hateful comments on social networks,” the FFF said on Twitter.
“The FFF condemns them and will file a complaint against their authors.”
Earlier, Coman’s club Bayern Munich also posted a message of support for the 26-year-old, condemning the racist comments made towards him.
“The FC Bayern family is behind you, King. Racism has no place in sport or our society,” Bayern wrote on Twitter.
French sports minister Amelie Oudea-Castera tweeted her support to all the players abused, saying the heinous comments “have no place in soccer or anywhere else.”
Additional reporting by AP
