Chelsea are investigating a video shared by record signing Enzo Fernandez alleged by the French Football Federation (FFF) and another Chelsea player to be racist.
In a live Instagram video following Argentina’s Copa America victory, Fernandez, 23, appeared to show him and his teammates chanting a derogatory song about the French team as they celebrated.
The FFF said it will file a complaint, while Chelsea teammate Wesley Fofana reposted the video on social media with the caption “Football in 2024: uninhibited racism”.
On Wednesday morning, Chelsea, the club that bought Fernandez for a Premier League record fee of £106.8m in January 2023, released a statement saying it has begun a “disciplinary procedure”.
“Chelsea Football Club finds all forms of discriminatory behaviour completely unacceptable,” it said, posted hours after Fernandez apologised.
“We are proud to be a diverse, inclusive club where people from all cultures, communities and identities feel welcome.
“We acknowledge and appreciate our player’s public apology and will use this as an opportunity to educate. The club has instigated an internal disciplinary procedure.”
Fernandez apologised on Tuesday night in a post on social media.
“The song includes highly offensive language and there is absolutely no excuse for these words,” the 23-year-old said.
“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.”
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The FFF has alleged the song appearing to be sung by some members of Argentina’s national team is “racist and discriminatory”.
In a statement they said: “The president of the French Football Federation, Philippe Diallo, condemns in the strongest terms the unacceptable racist and discriminatory remarks which were made against the players of the French team in the context of a song sung by players and supporters of the Argentina team after its victory in the Copa America and broadcast in a video on social media.
“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 challenge his Argentinian counterpart and FIFA, and to file a legal complaint for insulting remarks of a racist and discriminatory nature.”
Argentina beat France in a penalty shoot-out in the 2022 World Cup final and during the match some fans were heard to sing discriminatory songs, Sky Sports News reported.
A FIFA spokesperson said: “FIFA is aware of a video circulating on social media and the incident is being looked into. FIFA strongly condemns any form of discrimination by anyone including players, fans and officials.”
In a statement, Kick It Out said the “video of the Argentina team singing a discriminatory chant is unacceptable and clearly needs to stop”.
“We stand with and show our full support to Wesley Fofana after he responded publicly and brought it to wider attention,” they added.
“Although there has been an apology from Enzo Fernandez, and Chelsea say they will investigate the incident, several players are seen singing the song which means there will be a wider impact on teammates and fans at other clubs.
“We call upon all relevant clubs, the Argentina Federation and Fifa to address this concerning issue with empathy, sensitivity and understanding. Responses to these incidents cannot start and end with an apology.”
