Where is Argentina's focus?

Argentine soccer player Angel Di Maria said Tuesday that safety concerns mean he will not finish his career in his native Rosario, after a bullet-pierced pig's head was thrown at a family business.

The 36-year-old, who won the World Cup with Argentina in 2022, had said he wanted to return to his boyhood club in the nation's third-largest city, which has recently seen an explosion in gang-related crime.

"There was a threat at my sister's business: it was a box with a pig head and a bullet in the forehead, and a note that said that if I returned to (Rosario) Central, the next head was that of my daughter Pia," Di Maria told TV station Rosario3.

"I am not going to return to Rosario in this way. They touched my family and I am not going to allow that. Not at any price," he said, adding he wanted to protect the "peace and happiness" of his family.

Di Maria, who has played for Manchester United, has faced other threats including a note thrown into a family property in March threatening their lives if he joined any club in Rosario, a city in the central Santa Fe province.

Argentine authorities said at the time the note contained a threat from "criminal organizations" putting on a show of strength.

Santa Fe Governor Maximiliano Pullaro said this month there were protocols in place to guarantee the safety of public figures.

But Di Maria said he disagreed: "It is disrespectful to talk about security and protocols for me when people from Rosario cannot go out to work, cannot wait for the bus without being robbed or killed for a backpack."

Several high-profile South American footballers have faced criminal actions ranging from threats to serious crime, such as kidnapping and blackmail.

Also in Rosario, gunmen opened fire last year on a shop belonging to the family of World Cup-winning Argentine captain Lionel Messi's wife.

They left a threatening message for the footballer in what was also interpreted as gangs flexing their muscles.

Meanwhile, guerilla fighters in Colombia kidnapped the father of Liverpool footballer Luis Diaz last October and held him for 12 days before freeing him.

Argentina are on the cusp of guaranteeing their spot in the final of the 2026 FIFA World Cup with 22 points from 10 matches in the South American qualifying standings. 

Argentina will look to build on their momentum from a 6-0 thrashing of Bolivia last month and get three points to have one giant foot in the finals already. 

The match will be live telecast at 5:30 am Bangladesh time.

The Albiceleste, 2022 winners of the World Cup, sit atop the CONMEBOL table and will travel to Paraguay for their next World Cup qualifying game on Friday.

Paraguay were the last team to stop Argentina scoring in an away fixture, when they met in qualifying here back in 2021. There is often very little excitement when these two nations meet, with the last seven encounters producing just seven goals, and the previous two held here ended goalless.

The French Football Federation (FFF) plans to complain to FIFA about racist chants from members of Argentina's Copa America winning team.

The chants were heard during a live video posted on social media by Chelsea and Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez from the team bus in the wake of the Copa victory over Colombia in Miami on Sunday.

Some players, including Fernandez, sing a chant that dates back to the 2022 World Cup final that Argentina won against France that targets France's star striker Kylian Mbappe and includes homophobic insults.

A source close to the FFF told AFP on Tuesday that the French body plans to write to the Argentinian football federation and refer the matter to FIFA.

Two years ago, the FFF also filed a complaint against racist comments on social media.

Chelsea defender Wesley Fofana has described a video posted on social media by his club team mate Enzo Fernandez as "uninhibited racism".

The video, posted by Argentina international Fernandez on his Instagram account, featured a song sung by some of the Argentina squad about France's players.

The 23-year-old midfielder later apologised for the video where Argentina players were celebrating winning the Copa America after beating Colombia 1-0 in Sunday's final.

"The song included highly offensive language and there is absolutely no excuse for these words," Fernandez said on Instagram.

"I stand against discrimination in all forms and apologise for getting caught up in the euphoria of our celebrations. That video, that moment, those words, do not reflect my beliefs or my character."

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French fury at Argentina's Copa America insults

The French Football Federation (FFF) said the video included an alleged "racist and discriminatory" chant and that it would file a complaint to global soccer's governing body FIFA.

"Faced with the seriousness of these shocking remarks, contrary to the values ​​of sport and human rights, the president of the FFF decided to directly appeal to his Argentinian counterpart and FIFA and to file a legal complaint for racially offensive and discriminatory remarks," the FFF said.

France international Fofana commented on the video on social media platform X, writing: "Football in 2024: uninhibited racism." The comment was accompanied by a clip from the video.

FIFA and the Argentinian Football Association did not immediately respond to requests for comment. British media reported that Chelsea were investigating the video.

France striker Kylian Mbappe and other players of African descent on the national team received racist abuse after they lost to Argentina in the 2022 World Cup final, prompting a senior French cabinet member to call for a FIFA investigation.

Argentina beat Colombia to collect a record 16th Copa America title on Sunday.

Paris Olympics organisers are looking into what led to a pitch invasion during the opening match of the Olympic soccer tournament between Argentina and Morocco, they said on Thursday.

Argentina lost 2-1 following a VAR review after play was suspended with the scores level at 2-2 but the final result was only confirmed two hours later when the game was restarted.

"The football match between Argentina and Morocco at the Saint-Etienne Stadium was suspended due to a pitch invasion by a small number of spectators," Games organisers said.

"The match then restarted and was able to conclude safely. Paris 2024 is working with the relevant stakeholders to understand the causes and identify appropriate actions."

Argentina's Cristian Medina scored deep in stoppage time to salvage what looked like a 2-2 draw, but the decision ruling out the goal for offside following a VAR review was delivered about two hours after play was suspended.

Once order was restored and the teams had left the field following the invasion in which security staff chased several fans around the pitch, it became clear the match had not been completed but suspended.

The teams re-emerged to finish the match in an empty stadium, playing for three minutes and 15 seconds after VAR completed its review and disallowed the goal, in a turbulent start to the competition.