The FIFA World cup final was a spectacular clash between two international giants. Despite the mammoth lead for the first 80 minutes of the game, things got troublesome for Argentina when Kylian Mbappe inspired his side to make a comeback with a brace.
The game didn’t see a change in the scoreline till the full-time, and it went into the extra time. It was even more exciting as things remained tied up as Lionel Messi and Mbappe scored one goal each for their respective sides.
The contest was resolved at penalties which Argentina won and clinched their third world title. However, the internet can be ugly, as some black French players were victims of racist attacks by the angered fans of the losing side.
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Lewis Hamilton speaks against racist attacks on French players
After the game, among all the players of colour in the French national team, Aurelien Tchouameni and Kolo Muani were the biggest victims of the online abuse as the former missed a chance at a goal after a spectacular save by Emiliano Martinez.
Whereas, Tchouameni got racist attacks as he missed a penalty during the shootouts, which along with Kingsley Coman’s miss, ultimately became the reason for France’s loss.
📲 Lewis Hamilton showing support to Tchouaméni & Kolo Muani on IG. pic.twitter.com/ih6XGj8EUV
— Madrid Zone (@theMadridZone) December 21, 2022
But it still doesn’t justify a wave of racist attacks, and that’s why the seven-time F1 champion took to the internet to speak against the attacks after posting a story on Instagram. “Disgusted but not surprised,” wrote Hamilton.
The Mercedes driver further wrote that the two French players gave everything on the field and were heroes. He claims the due deserve nothing but respect.
Racist abuse against athletes of colour isn’t subsiding
Despite all the awareness and causes taken by different sports to minimize racism. A large section of fans racially abuse players of colour whenever they fail to perform or fall short of expectations.
The aftermath of the world cup final defeat is a big exhibition of that. Even Mbappe, who became the only player to score a hattrick in a world cup final with his performance on Sunday, was also not spared.
Hamilton himself experienced the same abuse by a few fans of his rival Max Verstappen over the past two years whenever there were collisions or tensions between the two sides. Even former F1 driver Nelson Piquet has been accused of calling Hamilton with a racist remark.
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