Hey Egypt , greetings from Argentina .
Since we’re playing each other on Tuesday, I just wanted to say something because I’ve seen a lot of weird stuff online.
We are not a racist country. Argentina was a Spanish colony for hundreds of years before fighting for its independence. Our country was then built by immigrants from all over the world—Italians, Spaniards, Germans, Arabs, and many others. Diversity is literally part of who we are.
We also helped several South American countries gain their independence, survived the British invasions before independence, and were among the first countries in the Americas to abolish slavery.
I know you’ve probably seen people online calling Argentina racist. A lot of that comes from internet trolls, rage bait, and people trying to get attention. Every country has idiots online. Please don’t judge 47 million people because of a few anonymous accounts.
It’s also a bit ironic when some European countries try to lecture us about racism while having long histories of colonialism and atrocities in Africa.
I actually think Argentina and Egypt have more in common than people realize. Both of our countries were ruled by foreign empires for a long time before becoming independent. Both are proud of their history and culture, both love football, both have passionate people, and both know what it’s like to have the world constantly talking about them without really understanding them.
Most Argentinians have a very positive image of Egypt. We grow up learning about Ancient Egypt, the pyramids, the pharaohs, and one of the oldest civilizations in human history. Egypt has always been a country we admire.
So please don’t let fake news or internet drama make you think Argentinians hate Egyptians. We don’t. On Tuesday we’re rivals for 90 minutes, and after that
we’re just two countries enjoying football.
Long live Egypt! Long live Argentina!