Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson has expressed his support for team-mate Enzo Fernandez after the midfielder filmed himself singing a “racist” chant during Argentina’s Copa America celebrations.
The Argentine star and several 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 later accused of “uninhibited racism” by his French international teammate Wesley Fofana, and several other Blues players unfollowed Fernandez on social media.
However, Jackson chose not to follow suit and instead took to Instagram to defend his criticized colleague, although his first post raised more than a few eyebrows.
The clip shared by the Senegalese international shows Fernandez interacting with a black child at the end of one of the Blues’ pre-season games last summer. Jackson accompanied the video with the caption: “Enzo Fernandez and this young fan,” followed by two pleading face emojis.
Enzo Fernández filmed a video of the Argentine national team singing a racist chant about France
Nicolas Jackson (right) has come to the defence of his team-mate, while other members of the Chelsea squad have condemned his actions.
The Senegal international posted a clip of the Argentina international interacting with a black child during the Blues’ pre-season tour last summer.
The post also included a black and white depiction of fists clashing, with a heart just above.
Jackson also posted a picture of himself and Fernandez sitting next to each other during a training session at the club’s base in Cobham. The Argentine could be seen smiling, while Jackson had a stern attitude in the image.
The Senegalese star’s defence of his teammate is surprising given the reaction of the rest of the Chelsea squad.
Sources close to the players have revealed that Chelsea’s French contingent are furious with Fernandez.
Chelsea have a number of French players in their squad, including Fofana, Malo Gusto, Lesley Ugochukwu, Christopher Nkunku, Axel Disasi and Benoit Badiashile.
Fofana, Disasi and Gusto unfollowed Fernandez on Instagram.
Defender Fofana has since been the target of vile racist abuse on social media following his public condemnation of the song.
Fernandez himself belatedly posted an apology on Tuesday night, which read: ‘I want to apologize 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 on his Instagram Story on Wednesday morning.
Fernandez issued a belated apology on Tuesday night, saying he was “against discrimination in all its forms.”
Chelsea defender Wesley Fofana (centre), who also plays for France, expressed his disgust at the video. He is one of three Blues players who unfollowed Fernandez on Instagram
‘The song contains extremely offensive language and there is no excuse for such words. I oppose discrimination in all its forms and I apologise for having been carried away by the euphoria of our Copa America celebrations.
“That video, that moment, those words do not reflect my beliefs or my character. I am so 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 rife with Kylian Mbappe being the target of heavy jeers from Emiliano Martinez, despite the French striker scoring a hat-trick and a penalty in the shoot-out.
Chelsea have issued a statement in response to the video posted by their midfielder on Wednesday morning, denouncing “all forms” of discriminatory behaviour and confirming that they have opened disciplinary proceedings.
“Chelsea Football Club considers any form of discriminatory behaviour to be absolutely unacceptable. We are proud to be a diverse and inclusive club where people from all cultures, communities and identities feel welcome,” the club said.
Chelsea confirmed in a statement that it has initiated internal disciplinary proceedings
Axel Disasi (left) is the other Chelsea player who unfollowed 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 initiated an internal disciplinary procedure.’
The reason Chelsea delayed issuing a public response to the video was that they wanted to speak to Fernandez to verify his comments. The recent Euros saw a rise in fake images created by artificial intelligence, such as those of Gareth Southgate.