Argentine Governor Cornejo Sent a Letter of Apology on Behalf of Mendoza to the French Embassy

A diplomatic crisis occurred after the Lieutenant Governor of Argentina's Mendoza province, Hebe Casado, described the French national football team as "an African team with bad behavior." The French Embassy declared Casado "persona non grata" and stated that the words were of a racist nature.

As the controversy grew, Mendoza Governor Alfredo Cornejo tried to cool the situation by sending an official letter to the French Ambassador to Buenos Aires, Romain Nadal. In the letter, Cornejo described the lieutenant governor's statements as "an individual expression" and emphasized that these words did not represent the feelings of the people of Mendoza or the region's policies.

Ambassador Nadal stated that football represents multiculturalism, emphasizing that stigmatizing players because of their skin color is absolutely unacceptable. The letter of apology sent by Cornejo was hand-delivered by officials during an event organized by the Embassy in Buenos Aires on the occasion of France's National Day.