Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez has apologized for a social media video the French Football Federation said contained a 'racist and racist' chant.
The FFF said on Tuesday it would complain to FIFA about the video, which appears to show some of Argentina's squad singing about France players during celebrations after their 1-0 Copa America final win over Colombia in Miami on Monday morning.
🚨 Enzo Fernández's statement of apology after racist songs. pic.twitter.com/IW1uDPoPne
– Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 16, 2024
Fernandez's Chelsea team-mate Wesley Fofana, a French international, took to social media to repost a video clip with the caption 'Football in 2024: racism unfettered.'
He, along with teammates Axel Disasi and Malo Gusto, appeared to unfollow 23-year-old Fernandez on social media after the video.
Chelsea released a statement on Wednesday saying: “Chelsea Football Club finds all forms of racist behavior completely unacceptable. We pride ourselves on being a diverse, inclusive team where people of all cultures, communities and identities feel welcome.
“We acknowledge and appreciate our player's apology to the public and we will use this as an opportunity to teach.”
The Blues have also launched an internal disciplinary process against Fernandez, who insists the incident 'doesn't reflect my character.'
Their £106.8m signing from Benfica in January 2023 returned to social media on Tuesday night to write: “I want to sincerely apologize for the video posted on my Instagram channel during the national team celebrations.
“The song contains very bad language and there is no excuse for these words.”
He continued: “I am against discrimination in all forms and I apologize for being caught in our Copa America celebration.
“That video, at that time, those words, do not reflect my beliefs or my character. I am truly sorry.”
Le football en 2024 : racism decomplexé 🤦🏽♂️🤦🏽♂️🤦🏽♂️ pic.twitter.com/MGkH5wPmNU
— Wesley Fofana (@Wesley_Fofana3) July 16, 2024
A statement from FFS president Philippe Diallo “condemns in the strongest terms the unacceptable and racist comments directed at the players of the French national team.”
“Confronted with the seriousness of these shocking comments, which are against the principles of sports and human rights, the president of the FFF has decided to directly appeal to his Argentine counterpart and FIFA and file a legal complaint regarding the racist and racist comments.”
On Wednesday, a spokesperson for the organization that oversees the game in the world said: “FIFA is aware of the video circulating on social media and this incident is being looked into closely. FIFA strongly condemns any form of discrimination against anyone including players, fans and officials.”
France beat Argentina in the last 16 of the 2018 World Cup, before Argentina got their revenge in the 2022 World Cup final.
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