Enzo Maresca’s first week of training brought nothing but positives, with players telling their representatives how much they enjoyed his sessions, even on the ‘double days’ when Chelsea’s new head coach donned a jersey to personally take part in passing drills.
A large screen on the pitchside at Cobham showed them instructions for a 30-15 interval fitness test, but the focus was largely on perfecting the passing pattern, with even the goalkeepers getting involved in the rondos.
Already, one gets the feeling that Maresca’s tactical instructions are much clearer than those of his predecessor. The most common words the 44-year-old Italian said throughout the week were “well done” when he saw something he liked.
There was also some fun. There was a game of tag where players had to touch each other’s backs. Reece James reprimanded Tosin Adarabioyo when he cheated by leaving the cordoned-off field to avoid being caught.
There were “forfeit tunnels” where teammates would line up to playfully slap the man sprinting down the middle. Wesley Fofana and Malo Gusto delivered huge blows to Levi Colwill from either side. There was a long jump event where Christopher Nkunku was particularly impressive, as people joked that he should be at the Paris Olympics.
Enzo Maresca’s first week of training brought only positive things, but now the dressing room has been hit by a crisis
Enzo Fernandez filmed a video in which the Argentine national team sang a racist chant about the French stars
Chelsea teammate Wesley Fofana reposted it and wrote: “Football in 2024: unbridled racism”
Their reward at the end of this busy but relaxing week was a rest day on Sunday, watching Marc Cucurella’s Spain defeat Cole Palmer’s England in the Euro 2024 final.
All was quiet, but then the storm broke: Mail Sport revealed that Chelsea had launched an investigation into the Instagram video uploaded by their £106.8million midfielder Enzo Fernandez.
The 23-year-old was filmed celebrating Argentina’s Copa America triumph over Colombia with members of the national team in the early hours of Monday morning by enthusiastically singing a song that the French Football Federation described as “racist and discriminatory” while vowing to file a complaint with FIFA, football’s world governing body.
This led to a civil war at Chelsea and, as is often the case these days, social media took centre stage.
Chelsea’s squad features a large number of footballers from France, including Fofana, Gusto, Nkunku, Lesley Ugochukwu, Axel Disasi and Benoit Badiashile. Sources speaking to Mail Sport anonymously said anger erupted among the French as they began unfollowing Fernandez on Instagram, while Fofana went a step further and uploaded a screenshot of his teammate with the caption “Football in 2024: unchecked racism”.
It was a disaster for Chelsea – one of their players publicly accused another of racist behaviour – on the same day that the club advertised a job on LinkedIn for a new “Head of Football Communications”. Fofana’s reward for speaking out was to have his own Instagram peppered with abuse, much of it racist, until the Frenchman eventually locked his comments section after seeing it devolve into a veritable cesspool.
Fernandez attempted to make amends with his teammates by sending the team a private apology through the internal messaging system. He then issued a public apology on social media, with some fans poking fun at his odd choice of Comic Sans and him writing, “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 America celebrations. This video, this moment, these words do not reflect my character or my beliefs. I am truly sorry.”
Malo Gusto (right) is one of several Chelsea stars who have unfollowed Fernandez on Instagram
Axel Disasi (left) was one of the first Blues stars to unfollow Fernandez on the app
Nicolas Jackson supported his Chelsea teammate in a series of Instagram posts
Fernandez apologized on social media for his behavior after Argentina’s victory at the Copa America
Chelsea’s own statement followed. The reason for the delay was that they wanted to speak to Fernandez first to confirm the video was genuine. Clubs have been unsettled by the increasing number of fake recordings created using artificial intelligence, such as that of Gareth Southgate during Euro 2024.
After hearing from Fernandez, they announced: “Chelsea Football Club considers any form of discriminatory behaviour to be completely unacceptable. We pride ourselves on being a diverse, inclusive club where people of 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 initiated internal disciplinary proceedings.”
The crisis continued when two Chelsea strikers posted conflicting messages on their Instagram pages. Nicolas Jackson appeared to show solidarity with his friend by posting a picture of Fernandez playing with a young black mascot.
David Datro Fofana followed with a post of his own, saying: “The football I love is multi-ethnic. Racism in all its forms must be condemned in the strongest possible terms. These acts have no place in football or anywhere else. This fight must be taken really seriously by everyone involved in the sport.”
There are now less than seven days until Chelsea depart for the United States, a trip on which Fernandez is unlikely to join the group. FIFPro’s recommendation is that professional footballers be given a four-week break, although each individual can shorten their holiday at their own discretion. Mykhailo Mudryk was with Ukraine when they were knocked out of Euro 2024 on June 26, but reported for his first day with Chelsea at Cobham on July 8 to impress Maresca.
Other Premier League clubs with representatives on the Argentina national team have so far refrained from commenting, mainly because there is no evidence that their player was involved in the controversial chants while Fernandez was the one holding the mobile phone. Like Chelsea, FIFA is also currently investigating the incident, while the Football Association is not currently involved.
It is likely that Fernandez will soon be seen wearing a Chelsea shirt again, taking his place on the pitch alongside the French players who feel insulted by his behaviour.
Argentina celebrated its second consecutive Copa America title on Sunday
The song came to public attention when Argentine fans chanted it on television at the 2022 World Cup
The split in Chelsea’s dressing room represents an early test for new boss Enzo Maresca
The fans expressed their displeasure and demanded that the midfielder be sold in the summer.
Others claimed the 23-year-old no longer deserved to play for the Blues
Signed in January 2023, he was an expensive transfer, arriving from Benfica on an eight-and-a-half-year contract, meaning the midfielder, who broke the British transfer record at £106.8 million, is expected to be reunited with the team ahead of the new season.
Although this chant took place outside the club environment, Fernandez is expected to be fined by Chelsea once the investigation is complete, possibly followed by a training course.
Maresca hopes the harmonious atmosphere created during his first week of training will continue as he prepares for the new Premier League season, but it seems Fernandez still has a lot of work to do to win the forgiveness of his colleagues.
