Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez apologizes for Argentina’s ‘insulting’ France song

Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez has apologised after he was recorded singing an allegedly racist and transphobic chant following Argentina’s Copa America final victory over Colombia. The Chelsea star expressed his regret on social media, writing: “I would like to sincerely apologise for a video posted on my Instagram channel during the national team celebrations. The song contains highly offensive language and there is absolutely no excuse for those words. I am against discrimination in any form and apologise for getting carried away by 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.”

Following Argentina’s victory over Colombia, Fernandez and his teammates were seen singing a derogatory song about the French players. The video, posted on social media, shows the team singing the first two lines of the chant before someone in the background tells Fernandez to “cut the video.” The offensive song, which emerged around the time of the 2022 World Cup final between France and Argentina, includes the lyrics: “Listen, spread the word, they play in France but they’re all from Angola, they’re going to run well, they like to sleep with transsexuals, their mother is Nigerian, their father is Cameroonian but the passport says French.”

Fernandez’s video immediately sparked strong reactions from fans and players, including his Chelsea teammate Wesley Fofana, who shared a screenshot of the video on X and Instagram with the caption “Football in 2024: unchecked racism.” In addition, Chelsea’s Axel Diasi and Malo Gusto appeared to have unfollowed Fernandez on Instagram following his offensive post.

In response, the French Football Federation, through its president Philippe Diallo, called on the Argentine Football Federation and FIFA to take immediate action. Diallo condemned the comments and said the federation had filed a lawsuit: “Philippe Diallo strongly condemns the unacceptable racist and discriminatory comments against the players of the French team in relation to a song sung by players and supporters of the Argentine team after their victory in the Copa America and circulated in a video on social media.”