Enzo Fernández apologizes for chanting racist slogans with Argentine teammates about France

CNN
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Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernández has apologised for singing a song with his Argentine teammates that contained racist and homophobic insults about the French national team.

Fernández posted a video on his Instagram account in which several players joined in the chant as the team celebrated its victory over Colombia at the Copa América on the team bus on Sunday.

“I would like to sincerely apologize for a video posted on my Instagram channel during the national team’s celebrations,” Fernández said in a statement. “The song contains highly offensive language and there is absolutely no excuse for those words.”

“I am against discrimination in any form and I apologize for getting carried away by the euphoria of our Copa América celebrations. This video, this moment, these words do not reflect my beliefs or my character.”

Chelsea said in a statement that the club “finds any form of discriminatory behaviour completely unacceptable” and has initiated internal disciplinary proceedings.

In addition, the French Football Federation (FFF) announced that it would file a complaint against the chants because they were contrary to “the values ​​of sport and human rights”.

“The President of the FFF, Phillipe Diallo, strongly condemns the unacceptable racist and discriminatory remarks against players of the French team in the form of a chant sung by the players and fans of the Argentine team after their victory in the Copa America and shared in a video on social media,” the statement said.

“The President of the FFF has decided to address his Argentine counterpart and FIFA directly and file a complaint for racist, offensive and discriminatory statements.

A FIFA spokesperson told CNN: “FIFA is aware of a video circulating on social media and is investigating the incident. FIFA strongly condemns any form of discrimination by anyone, including players, fans and officials.”

CNN has asked the Argentine federation for comment.

On Tuesday, Fernández’s Chelsea teammate Wesley Fofana, a black French international, posted the video on his X-account with the caption: “Football in 2024: unbridled racism.”