The huge ban Chelsea star Enzo Fernandez could receive for racist chant

Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez could be banned for 12 games after filming himself singing a racist and transphobic chant following Argentina’s Copa America victory.

Investigations have been launched by Chelsea, FIFA and Conmebol after Fernandez streamed a live video of the Argentina team singing a racist song about French players on the team bus on Sunday evening.

They could be heard singing the start of the song which first surfaced after the 2022 World Cup final and includes the lyrics ‘they play in France but they are all from Angola’.

It also makes grim transphobic comments about Kylian Mbappe’s reported relationship with transgender model Ines Rau, as well as saying: ‘Their mum is Nigerian, their dad is Cameroonian, but on the passport it says: French.’

Fernandez has already faced a backlash with several black Chelsea teammates unfollowing him on Instagram, including Wesley Fofana, Malo Gusto and Axel Disasi.

Fofana also called out Fernandez when he shared the video of the chant on X on Tuesday with the simple caption: ‘Football in 2024: uninhibited racism.’

It has now emerged that Fernandez could also face further punishment in the shape of a hefty ban which would see him miss a huge chunk of the coming season.

Sports lawyer Udo Onwere, who works at Bray & Krais, doesn’t think Chelsea will suspend their own player, but warned the FA could take a very different approach.

He told i: ‘Even though what’s happened is absolutely disgusting, Chelsea will look down the financial route.

‘They will put out a public statement to say they’ve spoken to the player and he’s extremely remorseful, he’s a young guy, they’ll make all the right noises, do something that optically looks good like having the captain with him.

‘The FA made its position clear on this type of incident back in August 2020 when it said: ‘Match-based sanctions of six to 12 games will be recommended to Regulatory Commissions for almost all acts of discrimination by individual participants.’

If the FA was to launch official proceedings against Fernandez, he would likely receive at least a six-match ban, but there would be scope for a lengthier 12-game suspension.

The 23-year-old, who was Chelsea’s record signing for £106.8m in January 2023, could be ruled out of action until November should he receive the maximum ban.

In the worst-case scenario, he would miss vital clashes with Manchester City, Liverpool, Newcastle, Manchester United and Arsenal before he was eligible to represent his club again.

Onwere added: ‘From my experience of dealing with these things, the FA may want to impose their own disciplinary measure, because here you have a situation where the charge has been admitted, then they’ll just look and see what censure that they can provide.’

Fernandez’s apology, meanwhile, did concede that he had used ‘highly offensive language and there is absolutely no excuse for these words’.

He said: ‘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.’

Chelsea put out a strong statement following the incident that said it ‘finds all forms of discriminatory behaviour completely unacceptable’.

‘We acknowledge and appreciate our player’s public apology and will use this as an opportunity to educate,’ the statement added.

‘The club has instigated an internal disciplinary procedure.’

Some players have moved to defend Fernandez, including black teammate Nicolas Jackson and former Argentina star Javier Mascherano, who said: ‘I know Enzo, he’s a great guy. What happens is that many times during a celebration, a part of a video can be taken out of context.’

The French Football Federation also said it would file a complaint to FIFA and contact the Argentine Football Association about the incident.

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