Enzo Fernandez said he received “unwavering support” from the Chelsea squad during the fallout from the video of him and his Argentina team-mates singing a racist chant about the France national side in July 2024.
Fernandez posted a video of the song on social media after Argentina’s 2024 Copa America final victory over Colombia, with the French Football Federation (FFF) describing the chant as “unacceptable, racist and discriminatory”. Fernandez’s Chelsea team-mate and France international Wesley Fofana accused members of the Argentina squad of “uninhibited racism”.
Fernandez, 24, said he cancelled his holiday to apologise in person to the Chelsea squad at their pre-season tour in the United States and added that the incident strengthened his relationship with his club team-mates. He went on to captain Chelsea in their opening Premier League match of the 2024-25 campaign the following month in the absence of Reece James.
The midfielder issued an apology on social media in July 2024 but, speaking publicly about the video for the first time, the Argentina international told GiveMeSport: “The club has always shown faith in me and I’m grateful for that because I was given the captain’s armband at a tough time, but that shows a lot about me and what I mean to the club and my team-mates who showed faith in me from the start.
“Regardless of what happened, the support was unwavering and they (Chelsea) showed their faith in me, so I’m ever so grateful to them for that.”
Fernandez explained that during his apology to the Chelsea squad he emphasised he was not “the type to discriminate or judge others”. He insisted the harmony in the dressing room was not impacted by the incident and said he had a “very good” relationship with his French team-mates.
Argentina defeated France in a penalty shootout in the 2022 World Cup final, with some fans of the South American side singing a chant ahead of that match referencing how many France players were of African heritage and were first- or second-generation immigrants in the European nation.
The words to the chant were: “They play for France, but their parents are from Angola. Their mother is from Cameroon, while their father is from Nigeria. But their passport says French.”
The FFF said it would file a legal complaint in the aftermath of the incident, while UK anti-discrimination charity Kick It Out called for action from governing bodies and clubs. Asked what he learnt from that period in 2024, Fernandez said he “suffered” and described it as a “really hard time for me personally”.