After France lost the World Cup final to Argentina, Kingsley Coman, Randal Kolo-Muani, and Aurelien Tchouameni were all targeted for racial insults.
Kingsley Coman and Tchouameni both failed penalty shootouts, while Kolo-Muani blew a golden opportunity to win it after extra time with the score still tied at 3-3.
All three were exposed to racial abuse on their social media sites, which included a slew of insulting remarks and emoticons with evident racist intent.
The harassment was so heinous that Tchouameni and Kolo-Muani had to suspend their accounts. However, both were eventually reactivated with the comments removed.
Coman and Kolo-Muani were two replacements that significantly affected the game as France rallied from a 2-0 deficit late in the second half to force extra time. The latter also scored in the World Cup semi-final, while Tchouameni scored against England in the quarter-finals.
The criticism was comparable to that received by England players Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford, and Jadon Sancho after missing penalties in the Euro 2020 final.
On that occasion, several jail terms were handed down, with UEFA among those who pushed for the consequences, and concerns will be raised about FIFA’s willingness to do the same.
