- The midfielder is said to have apologized to the team both publicly and privately
- Controversial slogans have been widely condemned as racist and transphobic
- PLUS: Chelsea icon Paul Canoville offers to mediate between Blues players
Enzo Fernandez’s Argentine teammate Alexis Mac Allister and the player’s father Raul have spoken out about a video showing members of the Albiceleste singing a racist and transphobic song.
The Chelsea star recorded the video on Instagram Live amid celebrations following the team’s Copa America win on Sunday, in which Fernandez and unidentified team-mates sang a discriminatory song about the French team, describing their players as “from Angola”.
Fernandez has been widely criticised for his participation in the slogan, including from his West London team-mates such as Wesley Fofana, who described the slogan as ‘unabashed racism’.
Fofana’s Chelsea colleagues, including Malo Gusto, Axel Disasi, Benoit Badiashile and Lesley Ugochukwu, have since unfollowed Fernandez on the platform, where Fernandez publicly apologised on Tuesday.
The 23-year-old is also believed to have privately apologised to his team-mates after the club launched an ‘internal disciplinary procedure’ over their midfielder’s behaviour.
Alexis Mac Allister has shared his thoughts on the video shared by Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez
The Argentine teammates celebrated winning back-to-back Copa America titles on Sunday
Fernandez has been the subject of widespread criticism for participating in the chant and sharing it on social media
Liverpool star Mac Allister, however, was keen to stress that the Argentine team’s slogans had not been interpreted entirely correctly. In Fernandez’s defence, he claimed that their country was ‘not a racist country’.
“You have to be careful what you say or do,” Mac Allister said in an interview with the Argentine Urbana Play FM‘Especially in Europe, they are much more sensitive there than here.
“The reality is that we are not a racist country. We are not used to talking about racism so much.”
Mac Allister added that it was ‘obviously a very important subject’ and stressed that the midfielder was a good person.
“Enzo has already apologized and explained what happened,” the midfielder continued. “I don’t think there’s much more to say.
“We know Enzo, we know he would never do it with bad intentions, he’s not that guy, he’s not racist.”
The midfielder issued a sincere apology on the social media site after the video went viral
On Thursday, Fernandez was defended even more fiercely by his father, who insisted that his son was not racist, but also said that Argentinians had also been victims of discriminatory chants.
“I know what my son is. He is not like that (racist),” Fernandez Snr said. Argentine sports‘It is difficult for a European to understand our football folklore.
‘He recorded that live at an inopportune time, he didn’t even realize what he was singing.
‘When Germany beat us in 2014, they imitated the way gauchos (Argentine horsemen) walked and treated us like fools.
‘In 2018, France criticized (Lionel) Messi for his height. We never said we were discriminated against.’
Fernandez’s father, Raul (far left), has also defended his son, claiming he is “not” a racist
While Fernandez awaits the outcome of Chelsea’s internal investigation, the player could still face harsher sanctions from the English Football Association.
The English Football Association are not yet investigating the incident, but if they do, Fernandez could face a ban of six to 12 games.
The French Football Federation has already filed a complaint with FIFA over the content of the video, but any punishment would likely target the Argentine Football Federation rather than the individual.
