- Enzo Fernandez filmed a video of his Argentina team-mates singing on Sunday
- The song, a racist chant about French players, has been widely condemned
- Blues midfielder issued an apology after being accused of 'uninhibited racism'
By Tum Balogun
Published: | Updated:
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84 View commentsChelsea striker Nicolas Jackson has thrown his backing behind embattled team-mate Enzo Fernandezafter the midfielder filmed himself singing a 'racist' chant during Argentina's Copa Americacelebrations.
The Argentina star and a number of his team-mates appeared to sing a controversial song about how French players are 'from Angola' or have a 'Nigerian' mother and a 'Cameroonian' father.
The Chelsea player was then 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.
Jackson however opted not to follow suit and instead took to Instagram to defend his under-fire colleague, although his first post raised more than a few eyebrows.
The clip shared by the Senegal international showed Fernandez interacting with a young black child at the end of one of the Blues' pre-season matches last summer. Jackson accompanied the video with the caption: 'Enzo Fernandez and this young fan,' followed by two pleading face emojis.
Enzo Fernandez filmed a video of the Argentina team singing a racist chant about France
Nicolas Jackson (right) has leapt to the defence of his under-fire team-mate, while others in the Chelsea squad have condemned his actions
The Senegal international posted a clip of the Argentina international interacting with a young black child during the Blues' pre-season tour last summer
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The post also included a depiction of black and white fists bumping, with a heart just above.
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. The Argentine could be seen smiling, while Jackson held a stern demeanor in the picture.
The Senegalese star's defence of his team-mate comes as a surprise given the reaction from the other members of the Chelsea squad.
Sources close to the players have revealed that Chelsea's French contingent are furious with Fernandez.
Chelsea have a large number of French players among their squad including Fofana, Malo Gusto, Lesley Ugochukwu, Christopher Nkunku, Axel Disasi and Benoit Badiashile.
Fofana, Disasi and Gusto have all unfollowed Fernandez on Instagram.
Defender Fofana has since been targeted with vile racist abuse on social media after his public condemnation of the song.
Fernandez himself belatedly posted an apology on Tuesday night, which read: 'I want to apologise for a video posted on my Instagram channel during the national team celebrations.
Jackson also included an image of the pair during a Chelsea training session in his Instagram story on Wednesday morning
Fernandez belatedly issued an apology on Tuesday night, in which he claimed to 'stand against discrimination in all forms'
Chelsea defender Wesley Fofana (middle), who also plays for France, vented his disgust at the video. He is one of three Blues players to unfollow Fernandez on Instagram
'The song includes highly offensive language and there is absolutely no excuse for these words. I stand against discrimination in all forms and apologise 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.'
The 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.
Chelseapublished a statement in response to the video posted by their midfielder on Wednesday morning, in which they denounced 'all forms' of discriminatory behaviour and confirmed they had opened a disciplinary procedure.
'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.
Chelsea confirmed that they have begun an internal disciplinary procedure in their statement
Axel Disasi (left) is the other Chelsea player to unfollow Fernandez after he filmed the Argentina 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.'
The reason for Chelsea’s delay in issuing a public response to the video was they wanted to speak to Fernandez to verify his comments. The recent European Championship tournament saw a rise in fake footage created by AI such as those of Gareth Southgate.
Its All Kicking OffInstagramNicolas Jackson
