“The African team has no manners”!.. An Argentine politician attacks the “roosters” of the World Cup, and the French embassy responds strongly!

The French embassy in Buenos Aires classified the deputy governor of an Argentine province as an “undesirable person” within its headquarters or within the framework of bilateral cooperation, against the backdrop of a publication in which the official considered the French football team “an African team without manners.”
Hebe Casado, the right-wing deputy governor of the wealthy province of Mendoza (west of the country), posted on the “X” platform after the match between France and Paraguay in the 2026 World Cup, a message in which she said, “Well done, Paraguay. The African team is without any manners. I cannot stand (French star Kylian) Mbappe.”
The French ambassador to Argentina, Romain Nadal, denounced these statements, which “are undoubtedly of a racist nature” and “make (the deputy governor) lose her eligibility to work with the embassy or participate in meetings in which the embassy is present,” according to what he explained to Agence France-Presse.
He added, “There is no place for racism in French-Argentine cooperation.”
This week, the ambassador informed Hebe Casado that she was persona non grata at the embassy, ​​and instructed his teams not to participate in any cooperation meeting with the province of Mendoza (a federal system in Argentina) if she was present in it, unless she retracted her statements.
The ambassador said, “We are proud of our diversity and will not tolerate… any form of disparagement or questioning of the nationality of our players. How can a public official in a country like Argentina, which prides itself on welcoming immigrants with open arms, criticize another team whose players are also the fruit of immigration?”
Casado defended herself in the face of negative reactions to her statements, saying that “only smart people understand sarcasm.”
In a radio interview in Mendoza, she justified her words with “football folklore.”
Her statements also sparked the anger of the French national team captain, and condemnations from the governments of France and Paraguay, the president of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) and the United Nations.