The Belgian anthem for the World Cup, co-signed by Roméo Elvis, is disturbing

A few months before the start of the 2026 World Cup, yellow card for the Belgian football federation. The presence of Roméo Elvis is causing reactions on social networks. As a reminder, in 2020, in resonance with the hashtag #BalanceTonRappeur, he was accused of sexual assault by a young woman on social networks. The rapper published an apology message on his Instagram account in which he acknowledged the facts. “ I became aware that I used my hands inappropriately on someone”he wrote then. In several interviews, he spoke of awareness and therapeutic work to understand his actions.

For part of the public, this past remains difficult to reconcile with their participation in the anthem. On social networks, many recall that in 2018, the federation first chose Damso to compose the Belgian anthem, before backing down in the face of the controversy sparked by his texts deemed misogynistic. “They refused Damso for his controversial music, but today choose an artist involved in an assault case”summarizes an Internet user.

Skip the ad

Other voices call for dissociating the man from the artist and welcome an unexpected collaboration. “The crossover we didn’t expect”while the Flemish musician Sylvie Kreusch, for her part, shared the music on her social networks with “Unity is strength”.

Titled Kiss The Grass, Come on Come on (Kiss the grass), the song was unveiled on April 28 on YouTube. Thought of as a unifying title, it echoes the Belgian funk group Come on Come on, of the 80s, in which Serge Van Laeken, the father of Roméo Elvis and Angèle, participated.

Beyond the controversy, the song itself struggles to convince. On YouTube, several comments consider the song too lackluster for a World Cup and also regret the absence of Flemish. “I hope the players will be more dynamic than this song”quips an Internet user. It now remains to be seen whether the federation will maintain this choice.