Fifa World Cup: Trevor Noah accused of racism by France fans as Daily Show host jokes ‘Africa won’ Russia 2018 final
South African comedian and Daily Show host is criticised for being ‘offensive to all French people with foreign roots’ after joking Africa, not France, won the World Cup
French football fans have accused Trevor Noah of racism after the comedian joked that “Africa won the World Cup” because most of the players in France’s squad are black.
Les Bleus won their second World Cup, 20 years after their triumph on home soil, with a 4-2 victory against Croatia in last Sunday’s final at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.
“Africa won the World Cup,” South African Noah, host of The Daily Show, said in a segment on the US late-night television programme this week.
“I get it, they have to say it’s the French team. But look at those guys. You don’t get that tan by hanging out in the south of France my friends.
“Basically, if you don’t understand, France is Africans’ backup team. Once Senegal and Nigeria got knocked out, that’s who we root for.”
Noah’s remarks came just a day before former US president Barack Obama used the example of the France team to highlight how people should look beyond race in society.