Buenos Aires, July 18: Sometimes reactions in a hurry may backfire. Besides, if such situation involves a sporting legend and something related to racism, then that certainly demands extra caution.
In a an unfortunate development, the Argentina Government on Thursday sacked its Undersecretary for Sports, Julio Garro, after he demanded an apology from national football team captain Lionel Messi for the racism chants controversy during the Copa America victory celebrations.
Since in the viral video it was unclear if Messi actually had made any such racist remarks, so Undersecretary Garo had to face the wrath of the government, it is learnt.
As per reports, a video shared by Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez on his Instagram account came under widespread scrutiny after the 23-year-old and his Argentine teammates were heard singing racist and discriminatory chants, directed at players of African descent in the France team.
The song in question also had derogatory references about France and Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappe's connection with transgender model Ines Rau.
Although it was unclear whether actually Messi was part of the controversial footage, Garro who was appointed as Sports Undersecretary in March this year, demanded an apology from Messi.
But without verifying if Messi was actually involved in such an act, Garo's seeking an apology from a legend like Messi, did not please the Argentina government. Soon after Garro's statements were aired, Argentina President Javier Millei’s office sacked Julio Garro.
The issue though had evoked mixed reactions. But Argentina government did not tolerate Garo's act in haste, where he did seek an apology from Messi, without verifying the details.