Chelsea star Enzo Fernandez apologises to teammates after starting ‘racist’ chant with Argentina players

17 July 2024, 14:27

By Kieran Kelly

@kellyjourno

Chelsea star Enzo Fernandez has apologised to his teammates after he filmed himself chanting a song which contained racist and homophobic slurs about French players.

Chelsea defender Wesley Fofana called out his club teammate for "uninhibited racism" after the Argentinian midfielder filmed himself singing an offensive song while on international duty.

Fernandez and his Argentinian teammates were seen singing a chant that implied the French team was made up of players from different African countries, rather than from France itself.

The Chelsea midfielder was filming the team on Instagram Live after their victory over Colombia to win the Copa America.

But he switched the livestream off after a few seconds.

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“I want to apologise sincerely for a video posted on my Instagram channel during the national team celebrations,” Fernandez posted on Instagram.

“The song includes highly offensive lanugage and their is absolutely no excuse for these words.

“I stand against discrimination in all forms and apologise for getting caught up in the euphoria of our Copa America celebrations.

“That video, that moment, those words, do not reflect my beliefs or my character.

“I am truly sorry.”

Fofana, 23, whose father is from the Ivory Coast, posted the video on his Twitter profile with the caption "Le football en 2024: racisme décomplexé", which translates to "Football in 2024: uninhibited racism".

The song also includes a transphobic reference to France captain Kylian Mbappe.

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As well as Fofana's criticism, teammates Axel Disasi and Malo Gusto have also unfollowed Fernandez on Instagram.

Chelsea are said to be taking the incident seriously and are investigating the video. The club is yet to comment publicly.

The racist chant is said to date back to 2022, when Argentina beat France in the final of the World Cup. Some fans were seen singing that France's players were "all from Angola".

The French Football Federation (FFF) - the equivalent to England's FA - are said to be considering legal action after the chant emerged.

They said in a statement: "The President of the French Football Federation, Philippe Diallo, condemns in the strongest terms the unacceptable racist and discriminatory remarks that were made against the players of the French team during a song sung by players and supporters of the Argentine team after its victory in the Copa America and broadcast in a video on social networks.

"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. "