Three of Enzo Fernandez’s Chelsea team-mates have unfollowed him on Instagram after he was accused of videoing himself and the Argentinian national team singing a ‘racist’ chant.
Fernandez is at the centre of a controversy after live streaming following Argentina’s 2024 Copa America win against Colombia on Sunday.
Philippe Diallo, the president of the French Football Federation (FFF), described the players as singing a ‘racist and discriminatory’ chant about their French counterparts while promising to file a legal complaint to FIFA.
Fernandez’s Chelsea team-mate Wesley Fofana, who is French and the son of an Ivorian father, took to X (formerly Twitter) to declare the video ‘uninhibited racism’.
Now, according to Daily Mail, it has been revealed that Fofana, Axel Disasi and Malo Gusto have unfollowed the player on social media.
It comes as new Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca is preparing Blues players for their upcoming US pre-season tour.
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Chelsea are conducting their own probe after their player found himself at the centre of this storm, with sources saying they are treating the matter seriously and will handle it accordingly.
The London club have a large number of French players who are black or mixed race, including Malo Gusto, Lesley Ugochukwu, Christopher Nkunku, Fofana, Axel Disasi and Benoit Badiashile.
Fofana shared footage of the video originally shot by Fernandez alongside the caption, written in French: “Football in 2024: uninhibited racism,” followed by three facepalm emojis.
The song dates back to the 2022 World Cup final in which Argentina beat France, with lyrics describing how French players are ‘from Angola’ or have a ‘Nigerian’ mother and a ‘Cameroonian’ father.
The FFF have condemned the chant and added: ‘Faced with the seriousness of these shocking remarks, contrary to the values of sport and human rights, the president of the FFF decided to directly challenge his Argentine counterpart and FIFA and to file a legal complaint for insulting remarks of a racial and discriminatory nature.’
