Enzo Fernandez Responds To Singing An Offensive Chant Targeted Towards France Players.

• Enzo Fernandez has issued an apology for singing an alleged racist and transphobic chants used by his Argentine teammates on France football team players during their Copa America title celebration galore. 

• Chelsea squad are 'very angry' with Enzo's footage, as French Football Federation threatens legal action and Wesley Fofana releases statement.

It happened that a controversial video went viral on social media from Enzo's Instagram Live where the Argentina team was seen celebrating their 16th Copa America triumph after a 1-0 win over Colombia in the final on Sunday, July 14 in Miami.

The video featured a discriminatory song by some of the Argentina squad about France's players before someone off-camera advises Enzo to "cut the video."

The song also featured a derogatory reference to Kylian Mbappe's association with transgender model Ines Rau.

It included the words:"Listen, spread the word, they play in France, but they are all from Angola, they are going to run well, they like to sleep with trans people, their mum is from Nigeria, while their dad is Cameroonian, but on their passport it says: French."

Many football fans took to social media to criticise his actions, and according to reports, some Chelsea's players, especially the French ones, are livid about the chants. 

Chelsea defender Wesley Fofana who has one cap for France, has also responded to the chant. Taking to X and Instagram, he posted a clip of his club-mate Fernandez singing on the bus, accompanying it with the caption: "Football in 2024. Uninhibited racism."

Le football en 2024 : racisme décomplexé 🤦🏽‍♂️🤦🏽‍♂️🤦🏽‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/MGkH5wPmNU

— Wesley Fofana (@Wesley_Fofana3) July 16, 2024 

 The Blues squad are 'very angry' with Enzo's footage, as it appears that Fofana, Axel Diasi and Malo Gusto have all unfollowed Fernandez on Instagram following his offensive post.

The Argentine Football Association (AFA) has on Tuesday been approached for comment, by the French Football Federation (FFF) who released an official statement, with president Philippe Diallo urging the AFA and FIFA to take swift action against the chant. He added that the association has lodged a legal complaint.

"Philippe Diallo condemns in the strongest terms the unacceptable racist and discriminatory remarks which were made against the players of the French team in the context of a song sung by players and supporters of the Argentina team after its victory in the Copa America and broadcast in a video on social media," the message began.

"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."

France defeated Argentina in the last 16 of the 2018 World Cup in Russia, before Argentina reciprocated that gesture by beating the Les Bleus in the final of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, as both countries lifted the trophy in both years.

Anti-racism group SOS Racisme has also come forward with a strong condemnation of the video, stating: "We condemn these intolerable comments in the strongest possible terms. Racism has absolutely no place in sport, or in any other sphere of society. We demand that strict measures be taken against this deplorable behaviour."

Chelsea is said to have initiated an investigative inquiry into the incident, but as of now, no disciplinary action has been taken against Fernandez.

On the other hand, Enzo didn't make any excuse for the racist comments he and his other teammates made in the viral video and said that they were caught up in the euphoria of celebrations.

The Chelsea midfielder took to social media platforms on Tuesday, expressing his regret: "I want to apologize sincerely for a video posted on my Instagram channel during the national team celebrations. The song includes highly offensive language and there is absolutely no excuse for these words"... He wrote on his Instagram story.

"I stand against discrimination in all forms and apologize 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."

Enzo is set to return to the Premier League side for pre-season in the coming weeks. It remains to be seen how he will be treated when he heads back to the Blues and whether FIFA or the Argentinian Football Association will respond to the FFF's plea.