France vs. Argentina in Paris Olympics
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00:00The Paris Olympics became a battlefield of emotions as France narrowly eliminated Argentina
00:06with a 1-0 win in the men's soccer quarterfinals.
00:11The victory, however, did not come without a storm.
00:16As the final whistle echoed through the stadium, fury ignited between the players, quickly
00:21escalating into a full-blown altercation that took several minutes to calm down.
00:27The animosity brewing between these two nations had deep roots.
00:32In a video that surfaced after Argentina's Copa America triumph, senior Argentine players
00:37were seen chanting racist slurs towards the French.
00:42Though the current bout featured primarily under-23 players who had no involvement in
00:47the prior incident, this was the nation's first clash since then, adding fuel to an
00:51already aflame rivalry.
00:54The friction dates back further to the 2020 World Cup final, where Argentina bested France,
01:00sowing the seeds of fierce competition.
01:04The source of Friday's brawl wasn't immediately apparent, but Thierry Henry, the revered coach
01:09guiding the French squad, stepped forward to express regret.
01:13''We don't take this match as revenge because the World Cup was with other teams,'' Henry
01:18remarked through Argentine journalist Gaston Edel.
01:22''Having scored the goal early gave us the momentum.''
01:25''I apologize for the final disturbance.''
01:29''It's not what I wanted and I couldn't control it.''
01:33''In fact, they kicked out a player,'' he stated, lamenting the loss of composure.
01:40Meanwhile, veteran defender Nicolas Otamendi, who played a pivotal role in Argentina's World
01:46Cup triumph and was one of the overage players in the squad, expressed his frustration.
01:51''It makes me very angry that they went to where the relatives were to celebrate in their
01:57faces,'' Otamendi shared, also via Edel.
02:01''Loic Bade, if he feels like celebrating, let him come to where we are and we'll solve
02:07it there.''