Kingsley Coman scored the first penalty shoot-out in the World Cup final.
Shortly thereafter, the Bayern professional was repeatedly racially insulted.
Lusail - Abusive songs and insults have always been part of football, and there's no denying that.
In the age of social media, however, the insults take on a different dimension, whole shitstorms can be unleashed against an athlete these days.
Even after the World Cup final between Argentina and France, which was only decided on penalties, one player in particular from the new vice world champion was caught in the crossfire: Bayern professional Kingsley Coman.
Kingsley Coman |
Born: June 13, 1996 in Paris |
Competitive games for FC Bayern: 246 (50 goals) |
At FC Bayern since: August 30, 2015 |
France caps: 46 (5 goals) |
World Cup final: The decision between Argentina and France was only made on penalties
The South Americans and the French delivered a gripping game in which the Central Europeans initially caught up from a 0-2 deficit, and both teams also scored in extra time.
With the score at 3:3, both teams had to withstand the pressure of the penalty shoot-out.
After the two PSG stars Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi were the first to score in their team, the pressure on the second French player could not have been greater.
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World Cup final: Kingsley Coman misses, Argentina secures third title
But Kingsley Coman took care of the matter, even if Bayern's attacking winger is not known for his penalties.
The 26-year-old took a few steps and thundered the ball into his left corner, but Argentina's keeper Emiliano Martínez had speculated on jumping to the right and emerged victorious from the duel.
After Aurélien Tchouaméni missed France's third penalty, Argentina found it easy to take the title for the third time in their history after 1978 and 1986 after a 4-2 penalty shoot-out.
The French, on the other hand, went down disappointed.
For Coman, however, the horror was only just beginning, as reported by tz.de.
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Pure disappointment: Kingsley Coman missed the French team's second penalty.
© Richard Callis/imago
After the World Cup final: Racist slurs on Coman's Instagram posts
A short time after the penalty shoot-out, countless hateful comments accumulated under the last pictures that Coman had shared on his Instagram profile.
The day after the game, there were still a large number of insulting monkey emojis and other violent racist insults on the site, such as malicious references to the African descent of many players in the French national team.
Like many other players, Coman has roots in the French overseas department of Martinique in the Caribbean.
Disparaging comments of a non-racist nature were also not uncommon.
"You fucking idiot", "F*** you", "garbage player, you should just retire from football" - there were no limits to the intensity.
It was noticeable that most of the insults were posted in English under the pictures, which users also noticed.
"The people commenting here aren't even French," one user noted.
Some of the racist abuse Kingsley Coman is getting on Instagram tonight pic.twitter.com/JIUudhLRgZ
— Bayern & The Team (@iMiaSanMia_en) December 18, 2022
"Cheer up": Fans show solidarity with Kingsley Coman after the final miss
But the comments in French were also tough.
"Bravo, you made your entire nation cry!" It was said.
Others go further and insult the Paris native because of his origins.
The majority, however, opposes the hurtful comments.
"The habit of the French: if you win, you're French, if you lose, you're African," write some users who show solidarity with Coman.
"No to racism" is the basic tenor of most of the comments, some praising the international for his commitment in the final.
"Cheer up and don't listen to the haters," one user tried to encourage Coman.
Kingsley Coman missed World Cup 2018 injured - next chance not until 2026
The 46-time national player Coman will certainly gnaw on his missed shot for a long time.
Because the "King" has a sad World Cup history.
The Bayern star missed the 2018 World Cup, in which France won the tournament, due to a syndesmosis ligament tear.
So far he has only been able to celebrate the Nations League victory with the Équipe Tricolore.
Now Coman has to hope for the upcoming World Cup in North America.
For short-term satisfaction, progress in the Champions League round of 16 could be enough, then it is against Paris Saint-Germain and Lionel Messi.
Courage should give him his best experience with PSG, in 2020 Coman scored the decisive winning goal for Bayern in the final for the premier class.
(ajr)
Rubric list image: © Richard Callis/imago