Moïse Bombito Subjected to Racism After Argentina Game. “No Room for That BS.”

ATLANTA, Ga. – Thursday night, Canada played Argentina in the opening match of the 2024 Copa America. Colorado Rapids center back Moïse Bombito started and played well. The Canucks put up a valiant effort but ended up losing 2-0. Bombito made a hard tackle on Lionel Messi in the 82nd minute. After the match, his Instagram comments section was flooded with racist remarks.

This racism included racial epithets as well as pictures and emojis of monkeys, which is a longtime racist trope against People of Color. ESPN first reported that Canada Soccer reported this to Concacaf and CONMEBOL. An investigation is underway at time of publishing.

Concacaf, Canada Soccer, and Colorado Rapids came out with public statements condemning the racist abuse and showing support for Bombito. Accounts appearing to belong to Argentina supporters have commented, quote tweeted, etc. with statements dismissing the outrage or straight up doubling down on the racism. At time of publishing, the Argentine Football Association (AFA) has not released any public statement regarding this matter.

The player has since posted on his Instagram story a photo of himself from the game with the caption “My beautiful Canada” followed by a red heard emoji and “No room for that bs.”

Canadian and Rapids fans have since responded to this outrage showing support for the player. Bombito is a likable personality and hard-working kid. He’s got deep connections in the soccer community back home in Montreal with humble beginnings. The 24-year-old is becoming one of the favorites in Commerce City.

This behavior is racist, disgusting, and should have no place in the beautiful game or society. The fact that we’re still dealing with this in 2024 is exhausting. To say nothing of the fact that it occurred the day after Juneteenth.

Concacaf, CONMEBOL, and FIFA must take action to deter this behavior going forward. To say nothing of the social media platforms allowing this dialog to exist under the guise of free speech or expecting governmental bodies to legislate their policing of such behavior. Don’t hold your breath. If these entities cared about that, they would have dealt with the Mexico fans and the P word chant by now. Furthermore, everything should be done to ensure the safety of the players and that the stadiums are free of this.

Burgundy Wave stands firmly in support of Moïse Bombito. No human being deserves what Bombito has been subject to since the full-time whistle on Thursday night. He’s a good kid and an ever improving player with a bright future. He made a tackle on the best player in the world which was not called a foul and did not result in an injury that warranted a substitution.

This behavior mars the start of his first major tournament as a starter for his national team. May the people responsible for this be held accountable. May Moïse be given the support he needs to move on from this and be well on and off the field.

Burgundy Wave will be donating all Patreon, TipJar, and ad revenue during the Copa America to the Azira Foundation. We’d like to thank the racist Argentinian fans who hate clicked on this article for the ad revenue that will support black kids in Uganda.

Photo Credit: Mark Shaiken

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