Former England striker Carlton Cole has called on Argentina star Lionel Messi to condemn the behaviour of his international team-mates in reference to the racist chant directed at black French players, which Chelsea star Enzo Fernandez headlined during the celebrations after winning the Copa America.
“Argentina have the best player in the history of football in Lionel Messi and we have to stand up to him and say you have to speak up because we need to hear your opinion,” the former Chelsea and West Ham striker said. “You have to speak up about this. Enzo’s apology is not enough because there are people in the team who are bigger than him. Messi is the most important player there and he is the captain and he has to speak up and say something about this racist behaviour or he will be selfish and he doesn’t care. He doesn’t care about my feelings or the feelings of all the black players who played with him at clubs. I condemn Messi’s position, I simply condemn it.”