Chelsea’s Wesley Fofana labels video posted by teammate Enzo Fernandez ‘uninhibited racism’
NEW YORK – Chelsea defender Wesley Fofana has described a video posted on social media by his club teammate Enzo Fernandez as “uninhibited racism”.
The video, uploaded by Argentina international Fernandez on his Instagram account, featured a song sung by some of the Argentina squad about France’s players.
The 23-year-old midfielder later apologised for the clip in which Argentina players were in their team bus celebrating winning the Copa America after beating Colombia 1-0 in the final on July 14.
“The song included highly offensive language and there is absolutely no excuse for these words,” Fernandez said.
“I stand against discrimination in all forms and apologise for getting caught up in the euphoria of our celebrations. That video, that moment, those words, do not reflect my beliefs or my character.”
The French Football Federation (FFF) said the video included an alleged “racist and discriminatory” chant and that it would file a complaint to Fifa.
“Faced with the seriousness of these shocking remarks, contrary to the values of sport and human rights, the president of the FFF (Philippe Diallo) decided to file a legal complaint for racially offensive and discriminatory remarks,” it said.
The chant dated back to the 2022 World Cup final that Argentina won against France, while the song targets Les Bleus star forward Kylian Mbappe and includes homophobic insults as well.
France international Fofana commented on the video on X, writing: “Football in 2024: uninhibited racism.” The comment was accompanied by a clip from the video.
Fifa has since responded, saying on July 17 that it was opening an investigation into the racist chants, while Chelsea had announced they had launched an internal disciplinary procedure against Fernandez over the incident.
The Argentine Football Association did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
French Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera also called for Fifa to take action.
“Pathetic. Behaviour all the more unacceptable because it is repeated,” she wrote on X.
France players – especially those of African descent – had suffered racist abuse before in the past, not only from Argentina but also on social media as a whole. Many of them were victims after they lost to Argentina in 2022, and the FFF also filed a complaint against online racist comments then.
Mbappe was one of those, but he would not lose sleep over the latest incident after he was officially unveiled as a Real Madrid player on July 16, telling 80,000 fans “my dream has come true”.
“I have for many years dreamt of playing for Real Madrid,” the former Paris Saint-Germain star told fans gathered in record numbers to greet him at the club’s Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
The 25-year-old signed a five-year contract and was handed the No. 9 shirt by club president Florentino Perez.
Accompanied by his parents watching from the crowd and with a former French hero of the club, Zinedine Zidane, in attendance, Mbappe was emotional as the crowd chanted his name and, at one point, kissed the jersey of the Spanish and European champions.
“My family is happy and my mum is crying. My dream is to measure up to this club, the greatest club in history. I will give my life for this club and this crest,” he added.
REUTERS, AFP
