‘The French WC 2026
football team .. the FRENCH !! 11 players in team .. 10 Black .. !! 1 white !!? The POWER of BLACK.”
Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan faced massive online backlash after a post about the composition of the French national football team following their victory over Paraguay in the World Cup match.
Posted on July 6, the post read, ‘The French WC 2026 football team .. the FRENCH !! 11 players in team .. 10 Black .. !! 1 white !!? The POWER of BLACK.”
Soon the post went viral, sparking heated debate online with many users accusing the veteran actor of being a racist.
Some users said he was just making an observation, while others criticised him for focusing on race instead of the shared French identity.
“Slightly disappointing that you’re giving this a racial colour. Yes, many of them are Black, but they are admired and adored by people of every race. Describing their success primarily in racial terms doesn’t really do justice to their achievements,” one post read.
Some users dubbed the post unnecessary and insensitive, while others claimed that Bachchan was “out of touch” with reality. Others still joked about the absurdity of it all.
“I really want to know who runs this account,” commented one user.
But while the debate of whether this was racist or not continued, football fans chimed in, saying that only talent matters in the game.
“On the playground, colour, race, or identity don’t matter—only hard work and the team’s performance determine victory. The power of football is the real strength,” read one post. Another comment read: “Football does not become powerful because of black or white; it becomes powerful when a nation gives equal space to talent.” (Agencies)
