Chelsea, the club of Wesley Fofana and Enzo Fernandez, has initiated disciplinary proceedings against its Argentinian midfielder, who was behind the spread of the chant on its social networks.
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The story continues to make a big noise. The International Football Federation (FIFA) announced, in a press release consulted by AFP, on Wednesday July 17, the opening of an investigation following a racist chant sung by players of the Argentine team against the Blues. “Fifa strongly condemns any form of discrimination by anyone, including players, fans and officials,” said the instance.
Earlier in the day, it was the English club Chelsea who announced the launch “a disciplinary procedure” against his midfielder Enzo Fernandez. The Argentinian is accused of having sung with teammates the first words of the racist chant after the victory of the Albiceleste in the final of the Copa America, before abruptly cutting off his live broadcast.
The day before, French internationals Wesley Fofana and Jules Koundé had publicly condemned this video. The Barcelona player described the scene as “lamentable”. This is a demonstration of “uninhibited racism” for Fofana, who is also Enzo Fernandez’s teammate in London.
He was supported by fellow French Chelsea players Benoit Badiashile, Axel Disasi, Lesley Ugochukwu and Christopher Nkunku, who decided to unfollow Enzo Fernandez on social media in a show of disapproval.
The opening of the FIFA investigation followed the statement on Tuesday by the president of the French Football Federation, Philippe Diallo. In a statement, he announced that he would refer the matter to FIFA authorities and “condemn in the strongest terms the unacceptable racist and discriminatory remarks made against the players of the French team”The Minister of Sports, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, was also offended by the behaviour of the Albiceleste players on X.
The initiator of the video, Enzo Fernandez, reacted to the controversy and apologized on his social networks.I would like to sincerely apologize for a video posted on my Instagram channel during the national team celebrations. The song contains very offensive language and there is absolutely no excuse for these words. I oppose discrimination in all its forms and apologize for getting carried away by the euphoria of our Copa America celebrations.”
The American champion added: “This video, this moment, these words do not reflect my beliefs or my character. I am sincerely sorry.” On Wednesday, he received the support of his Senegalese teammate Nicolas Jackson, in a post published on X.