THAT’S RACIST: Chelsea torn after Fofana labels teammate’s IG post ‘uninhibited racism’
Chelsea defender Wesley Fofana has described a video posted on social media by his club team mate Enzo Fernandez as “uninhibited racism”.
The video, posted by Argentina international Fernandez on his Instagram account, featured a song sung by some of the Argentina squad about France’s players.
The 23-year-old midfielder later apologised for the video where Argentina players were celebrating winning the Copa America after beating Colombia 1-0 in Sunday’s final.
Fernandez says on Instagram: “The song included highly offensive language and there 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 celebrations. That video, that moment, those words, do not reflect my beliefs or my character.”
— Enzo Fernández (@IEnzofernandez8) July 16, 2024
The French Football Federation (FFF) says the video included an alleged “racist and discriminatory” chant and that it would file a complaint to global soccer’s governing body Fifa.
A statement by the FFF reads: “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.”
France international Fofana commented on the video on social media platform X, writing: “Football in 2024: uninhibited racism.”
The comment was accompanied by a clip from the video.
Le football en 2024 : racisme décomplexé 🤦![CDATA[]]>🏽♂️🤦![CDATA[]]>🏽♂️🤦![CDATA[]]>🏽♂️ pic.twitter.com/MGkH5wPmNU
— Wesley Fofana (@Wesley_Fofana3) July 16, 2024
France striker Kylian Mbappe and other players of African descent on the national team received racist abuse after they lost to Argentina in the 2022 World Cup final, prompting a senior French cabinet member to call for a FIFA investigation.
According to the UK’s Mirror, Argentina sang: “On passport, French nationality, listen, spread the word, they play in France, but they are all…”
It was at that point that someone said ‘cut the video’.
The full chant, according to the publication, goes on saying: “... from Angola, they are going to run well, they like to sleep with trans people, their mum is Nigerian, their dad is Cameroonian, but on the passport it says: French.”