Enzo Fernandez has reportedly apologised to his Chelsea team-mates after he filmed himself and many of his Argentina team-mates singing a 'racist' chant during celebrations of their Copa America win.

Mail Sport reported that several in the Blues' dressing room were outraged by their colleague singing along to the controversial song seemingly about how French players are 'from Angola' or have a 'Nigerian' mother and a 'Cameroonian' father.

Swiftly after the video was posted, Fernandez was accused of 'uninhibited racism' by his French international team-mate Wesley Fofana, with a number of other Blues players then unfollowing Fernandez on social media.

It has now been reported by The Telegraph that Fernandez in addition to the public apology he issued on Tuesday night, the 23-year-old has apologised in a message that was circulated around the entire squad. 

The outlet claims that the Blues, who confirmed that they have begun an internal disciplinary procedure, first sought to verify the authenticity of the video amid today's prevalence of AI generated content.

Enzo Fernandez has reportedly issued an apology that has been circulated around the Chelsea squad

The club broke their silence in a statement on Wednesday morning which denounced 'all forms' of discriminatory behaviour.

'Chelsea Football Club finds all forms of discriminatory behaviour completely unacceptable. We are proud to be a diverse, inclusive club where people from all cultures, communities and identities feel welcome,' the club said.

Read More

Chelsea fans slam £100m star Enzo Fernandez after he filmed himself singing a 'racist' chant

'We acknowledge and appreciate our player’s public apology and will use this as an opportunity to educate. The Club has instigated an internal disciplinary procedure.' 

Time will tell whether Fernandez's public and private apologies will appease the Chelsea squad, especially its French members, who were the target of the abuse. 

Their ranks include Fofana, Malo Gusto, Lesley Ugochukwu, Christopher Nkunku, Axel Disasi and Benoit Badiashile.

Fofana, Disasi and Gusto have all unfollowed Fernandez on Instagram.

The controversial song first emerged around the 2022 World Cup, when Argentina beat France in the final on penalties in Qatar.

The game was already mired in bad-blood with Kylian Mbappe targeted by heavy taunting by Emiliano Martinez - despite the French striker scoring a hat-trick and a penalty in the shootout. 

Sources at Chelsea say they are taking the matter seriously and will proceed accordingly.

French Football Federation (FFF) president Philippe Diallo branded the footage 'racist and discriminatory' and vowed to take legal action with a complaint to FIFA.

Read More

Nicolas Jackson DEFENDS team-mate Enzo Fernandez in Argentina's racism storm with bizarre video

'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,' added the FFF.

FIFA also revealed that they are investigating the issue. A statement from world football's governing body read: 'FIFA is aware of a video circulating on social media and the incident is being looked into. FIFA strongly condemns any form of discrimination by anyone including players, fans and officials.'

Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson has thrown his backing behind embattled team-mate. The Ivory Coast international shared a clip of Fernandez interacting with a young black child at the end of one of the Blues' pre-season matches last summer.

Jackson also posted an image of himself and Fernandez sitting next to each other during a training session at the club's Cobham's base.

Fernandez is set to return for training ahead of the new season at the end of the month.