Fernandez apologizes for racist chants after Chelsea teammates unfollwed him on social media
Enzo Fernandez has issued an apology, following his social media post that showed the Argentine squad chanting racial song about the France team.
Recall Argentina beat Colombia 1-0 in the Copa America final on Sunday, making it back-to-back victories in the competition having also won the World Cup in Qatar in 2022.
I an obscured way of celebration, they decided to sing uninhibited’ racial song about the French team who they played with in the World Cup final.
The song references how many of France’s players are of African heritage.
“They play for France, but their parents are from Angola. Their mother is from Cameroon, while their father is from Nigeria. But their passport says French.”
Taking to his Instagram story, Fernandez apologised for the footage, distancing himself from racism.
“I want to apologise sincerely for a video posted on my Instagram channel during the national team celebrations.
“The song includes 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 Copa America celebrations.
“That video, that moment, those words, do not reflect my beliefs or my character. I am truly sorry.”
The apology came after all his Chelsea French teammates; Wesley Fofana, Axel Disassi, Benoit Badiashille, Malo Gusto, Lesley Ugochukwu, Christopher Nkunku and Malang Sarr unfollwed him on social media.
Chelsea centre-back Fofana, who is the son of an Ivorian father, took to social media to share the video, where he fired back at the Argentina squad.
The French defender wrote, “Football in 2024: uninhibited racism.” his statement is believed to have spurred Fernandez to make the public apology.
Meanwhile, talkSPORT reports that Chelsea are also investigating the video, which has been condemned by fans online.
French Football Federation (FFF) has also filed a legal complaint to FIFA about the matter.
“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 Argentine counterpart and FIFA and to file a legal complaint for insulting remarks of a racial and discriminatory nature,” the statement released on Tuesday read.