- The Chelsea defender has cast a vote of support for his colleague Enzo Fernandez
- Fernández apologized to Fofana and his colleagues for the controversial video
- Fofana says Fernandez needed to be taught why the filmed chant was hurtful
Wesley Fofana insists Enzo Fernandez is not racist and says his Chelsea team-mate simply needed to be educated on why the Argentine chant aimed at the Frenchman was so hurtful.
Fofana was not forced to speak, but instead asked his club if he could speak to reporters covering his tour of the United States.
It was after a training session in Atlanta that he told us why he had forgiven Fernandez, two weeks after describing footage of Argentina’s Copa America celebrations aboard the team bus as “uninhibited racism” on social media.
Fernandez rejoined the Chelsea squad on Monday, with the £106.8m midfielder issuing an immediate apology at a team meeting and pledging to make a sizeable contribution to an anti-discrimination charity.
However, Fofana says education is more important than money and he does not want to see a repeat of this ugly incident that rocked Chelsea.
Chelsea defender Wesley Fofana (left) said his teammate Enzo Fernandez is “not racist”
Fernandez has joined Chelsea’s pre-season training following the earlier racist storm caused by his post of Argentine players singing a discriminatory chant.
“You see Enzo is back and I’m happy,” said Fofana, one of six French players in the Chelsea squad. “We spoke together. I explained to him why I didn’t like the video. He explained it to me. He apologized because he didn’t want to hurt the French fans or anyone else. I didn’t understand him when he sang it.
“And I trust him. Because I know him. I know Enzo. He’s not racist. The thing is that the video is bad. It’s not just about Enzo. It’s about the Argentine national team. Enzo is in the video, but if he was from another country, he would have posted the same thing. It was definitely great news because we play on the same team.
“But now that it’s over, it’s okay. I’m happy with this situation because he understands me, I understand him, he apologized, I trust him, and that’s the most important thing. Enzo is an important player in Argentina. I hope this has taught him a little, because it’s certainly a different culture.”
Fofana deleted his social media post and explained: “We play for the same club and crest and we train together. Now I understand. He understands me. Everyone is happy.”
Asked if his view is shared by the entire Chelsea touring squad, Fofana said: ‘We spoke, the whole team together. It wasn’t just me and Enzo. It was everyone. We’re in the same team and we have to move forward together. It’s over. We play together. We need to stay together. We’re strong together.’
Fernandez previously filmed a video of the Argentine team singing a racist chant about France.
Fofana has now deleted his tweet where he originally reposted the video via X along with the words: ‘Football in 2024: Uninhibited racism’
Fofana (C) and Fernández (D) have now made peace after the Argentine star apologized.
“If I’m on one side and Enzo on the other and we fight every day or we don’t talk or we’re not happy on the pitch, then we’re not playing well. It’s not just about Enzo and me. It’s about the whole team. That’s why we talk. It’s a good club.”
Fofana added that he was not satisfied to learn that Fernandez was losing money, and that Chelsea had also pledged to match his charitable donation. Instead, he believes it is more important that the rest of the world learns a lesson about respecting different cultures.
“I don’t care about the money,” Fofana added. “He loses money. I don’t want Enzo to lose money. The donation is good, but the most important thing is not to repeat the act and to educate everyone. It’s an example because Enzo is a great player, a great star. He understands that and I’m happy with that.”
“I don’t think a major sanction for Enzo is a good process. We need to educate about this because cultures are different in many countries. We don’t have the same education, for better or worse. But we need to educate everyone if we don’t want it to happen again.”