Following the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) match between Congo and Morocco, DR Congo captain Chancel Mbemba faced a barrage of racist abuse on social media.
The abuse, consisting of monkey and gorilla emojis and racist comments, was directed at Mbemba after his team secured a 1-1 draw against Morocco.
The 29-year-old Mbemba, who plays for French club Marseille, became the target of racist comments on his Instagram account.
This unfortunate incident highlights the persisting issue of racism in football and the toxic behavior displayed by some individuals on social media platforms.
The abuse occurred in the aftermath of a heated exchange between Mbemba and Morocco coach Walid Regragui. The on-field altercation escalated into a melee involving players and officials from both teams, continuing as they left the field and entered the players’ tunnel.
Regragui approached Mbemba after the game, leading to a tense interaction. Mbemba, who was on his knees giving thanks, initially engaged in what appeared to be a friendly exchange. However, the situation escalated as Regragui continued talking and Mbemba, feeling insulted, gestured for the video referee.
In response to the racist comments and gestures, Mbemba chose to remain silent, emphasizing his respect for everyone.
Mbemba said of the incident with Morocco coach, Walid Regragui ‘I respect the coach who is a great man. The TV cut the videos, but I have them. I don’t need to swing them. I keep my silence, it’s better, that’s how I am. Everyone knows me, I respect everyone, I don’t need to shoot anyone but God’s justice is there.’
In his own comments about the incident, Regragui told L’Equipe: ‘I said to Desabre [Dr Congo’s coach]: ‘Bring him back to me, he’s going crazy, he’s talking nonsense. I didn’t like it because it insinuates a lot of things.
‘So if he has images other than what we see on television, let him take them out, with pleasure. And he’ll see exactly what happened. And that’s what happened… Before I went to shake his hand, he took me and my assistant to task on the sidelines before the end of the game, he spoke badly to us. And Desabre knows it.
‘ And at the end, despite that, I’m going to shake his hand and say, “Why are you talking to me like that?” And then he looks away, like “I’m not shaking your hand”. I held his hand, you can see it on the pictures, and he started screaming all over the place.
“I said, “You’re telling it to yourself!” And he’s like, “You called me an idiot!” It’s okay that he heard that, even though I never said it, but by speaking the way he did, he’s implying that my words are racist, it’s dishonest. Since he only talks about religion in his speech, let him be a little honest with himself.’ the coach said.