Enzo Fernandez banned from driving and slapped with a £3K fine - after Chelsea vice-captain failed to identify driver of speeding Porsche

Enzo Fernandez has been disqualified from driving and handed a £3,020 fine after the Chelsea vice-captain twice failed to identify the driver of a car.

The Argentinian's sentence was revealed in his absence at Llanelli Magistrates' Court, Carmarthenshire, on Wednesday afternoon.

Fernandez first failed to identify who was driving a speeding Porsche Cayenne on Carmarthen Road, Swansea, on December 27, 2023.

The 23-year-old then committed a further offence after failing to identify the driver of a vehicle running a red light on Church Street, Llanelli, on 24 January.

He has now been hit with a fine and driving ban although it has not been proven whether the Chelsea midfielder was driving the vehicle on either occasion, Sky News reports.

It comes after Fernandez was slammed for filming himself and his Argentina team-mates singing a chant directed at France's black players following their Copa America triumph in July.

The song, which also singles out Kylian Mbappe, was condemned by the French Football Federation who filed a complaint to FIFA. 

Fernandez's Chelsea team-mate Wesley Fofana also reposted the video and labelled the chant 'uninhibited racism' before unfollowing Fernandez on Instagram.

Two other Chelsea players - Malo Gusto and Axel Disasi - also unfollowed Fernandez.

The midfielder subsequently apologised for the video and insisted he is not racist, while Chelsea reacted by condemning 'all forms of discriminatory behaviour' prior to conducting their own investigation.

Club manager Enzo Maresca then caused controversy last month after he named Fernandez as captain for the Blues' opening Premier League fixture against Manchester City.

Speaking prior to the game against City, Maresca said Fernandez was one of several options to wear the armband and that the racism saga had been dealt with. 

'He's one of the captains,' Maresca told Sky Sports. 'He's not the only captain, but he's the captain today. I can see his team-mates, they like him as a player and as a man.

'All of us sometimes do some mistakes. The important thing is to recognise this and it's finished.'

In the aftermath of the racism storm, Fernandez pledged to make a significant donation to an anti-discrimination charity.

Fofana, one of five French players in Chelsea's vast squad, also revealed in late July he had smoothed things over with Fernandez and insisted the Argentine 'is not racist'.

Fernandez made his breakthrough in his country's World Cup-winning side in 2022, appearing for just the fourth time in a blue and white shirt in a cameo in their opening fixture against Saudi Arabia.

By the end of the tournament he was one of the first names on the teamsheet, scoring one and assisting another in a glittering tournament which earned him a move to Stamford Bridge.