Brazilian Lawmaker Henrique Vieira denounces Argentine fan racism at 2026 World Cup

Federal deputy Henrique Vieira (PSOL‑RJ) posted a video on Instagram condemning a racist and transphobic chant sung by Argentine supporters during the FIFA World Cup. The chant, originally broadcast in Qatar 2022, vilified the Nigerian‑Cameroonian heritage of French striker Kylian Mbappé and referenced trans model Ines Rau. Vieira warned that the "banalisation of evil" normalises hate speech and can lead to violence, stating, “It is not acceptable… this is a banalisation of the evil that is gaining breath worldwide.”

The issue resurfaced on 3 July in Miami when Argentine fans called livestreamer IShowSpeed a “monkey” while he wore an African‑team shirt during Argentina’s win over Cabo Verde. FIFA announced a formal investigation into the Argentine fan conduct the same week. In parallel, Paraguayan senator Celeste Amarilla posted racist messages about Mbappé; the French Football Federation referred the case to French prosecutors and Paraguay’s government issued a repudiation.

FIFA’s social‑media monitoring counted over 6 million posts in the tournament’s group stage, with 225 000 escalated for human review. Racial abuse accounted for 11 % of the flagged content, making it the most common category of hate detected.