Fernandez and his Argentine teammates were celebrating on their team bus following their 1-0 extra-time win over Colombia in the Copa America final on Sunday evening when Fernandez was broadcasting a live video on Instagram.
During Fernandez’s broadcast, Argentina’s players could be heard singing the first two lines of the song, ‘on passport, French nationality, listen, spread the word, they play in France, but they are all…’, before someone is heard saying, ‘cut the video’.
The racist and transphobic chant, which was first sung by Argentina supporters during the 2022 World Cup, claims that France’s players are ‘all from Angola’ and makes a vile reference to a reported relationship between Kylian Mbappe and transgender model Ines Rau.
The midfielder has since released a statement apologising for singing the song, while Chelsea have begun an internal disciplinary procedure.
Former Tottenham striker Bent criticised Fernandez’s actions but also showed evidence of previous racist abuse he had received when criticising the Chelsea player.
‘The last time I spoke about Enzo Fernandez and his performances for Chelsea this is the reaction I got , and this isn’t half of it,’ he said on X, posting two videos which show him scrolling through numerous racist comments posted under his Instagram.
Fellow Chelsea player Wesley Fofana, meanwhile, openly criticised his teammates actions, reposting a recording of the video with the captain: ‘Football in 2024: uninhibited racism.’
Fernandez plays alongside several black French teammates at Chelsea including Fofana, Benoit Badiashile, Axel Disasi, Malo Gusto, Christopher Nkunku and Lesley Ugochukwu.
In a statement, the 23-year-old apologised unreservedly for the clip and said simply got ‘caught up in the euphoria of our Copa America celebrations’.
‘I want to apologise sincerely for a video posted on my Instagram channel during the national team celebrations,’ he said.
‘The song includes highly offensive language and there is absolutely no excuse for these words.
‘I stand against discrimination in all forms and apologise for getting caught up in the euphoria of our Copa America celebrations.
‘That video, that moment, those words, do not reflect my beliefs or my character. I am truly sorry.’
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