French goalkeeper Hugo Lloris was the victim of anti-White racism following the French national team’s defeat to Argentina on penalties in the FIFA World Cup final on Sunday.
France lost 4-2 in the third FIFA World Cup final in penalties, after coming back from a losing position twice in the game to tie with Argentina 3-3 after extra time, thanks to a hat trick from superstar forward Kylian Mbappé.
However, the forward’s heroics were in vain, as two French players missed their spot kicks, mounting pressure on Lloris in a shootout where the French goalkeeper was unable to prevent Argentina from winning football’s flagship tournament for the third time in its history.
Following the match, Lloris was hounded by hundreds of social media users posting vitriolic abuse at the footballer, with the phrase “sale blanc,” or “dirty White,” frequently used.
“The only white man who didn’t do the job. Fuck you, Lloris,” one user wrote.
“Lloris has conceded 3 goals and stop 0 penalties. Dirty White,” another added.
“If he wasn’t white I swear he would never have worn the jersey. This guy is too bad,” wrote a third aimed at the French goalkeeper while another concurred: “He holds (the jersey) just because he is White.”
“The only White on the team is Lloris, and it is because of him that France lost,” claimed another.
One described Lloris as a “fucking racist” and the “worst goalkeeper in the world,” also taking aim at White manager Didier Deschamps who they called a “dirty terrorist.”
Others to reportedly receive racist abuse following the match included Black players Kingsley Coman and Aurélien Tchouaméni, both of whom missed crucial penalties for France in the shoot-out.
The appalling remarks on both sides shows the deeply divided state of affairs in multicultural France.
There has been no report as of yet of the incidents by French authorities.