Wesley Fofana believes Enzo Fernandez is “not racist” after the Argentine apologised to the Chelsea squad for his actions while on international duty earlier in the month.
Fernandez arrived in Atlanta, where the Blues are playing their third pre-season game, on Monday and took the chance to say sorry face-to-face for the first time since a video of him and his Argentina teammates appeared online. The video included Fernandez and his Argentine compatriots singing a racist and derogatory chant about some of the France squad.
Fofana, a Frenchman himself, took to social media to describe the chant as “uninhibited racism”. The French defender has now spoken about the incident publicly for the first time and has opened up on how he and the rest of the squad are feeling.
“He arrived yesterday and we talked with the manager,” Fofana said on Tuesday evening. “We talked together. I explained why I didn’t like the video.
“He explained, he said sorry because he did not want to hurt French fans or anyone. He did not understand when singing it. He did not understand. And I trust him. Because I know him. I know he is not racist. The act, I felt a little bit upset. But now, it is done. It is finished.”
When asked if everyone else in the squad feels the same way, Fofana said: “I think so. We talked, all the team together. It was not only me and Enzo. It was everybody. We are in the same team and we need to go forward together. Everybody talked. Everybody spoke. And that’s it. It is finished.”
He added: “I think he understands. Enzo is a big player in Argentina. I hope this has educated him a bit, because for sure, it is a different culture.”
football.london understands Fernandez approached the club upon his return and offered to make a hefty contribution to an anti-discrimination charity, with the club prepared to match the donation. Fofana does not want Fernandez to lose money but is pleased he is now receiving education on the topic.
“It’s good. I don’t think a big sanction for Enzo is a good process,” Fofana continued. “We need to educate about this because cultures are different, a lot of countries. We don’t have the same education, for good or bad. But we need to educate everybody if we don’t want a repeat.
“For sure, I know Enzo. He is not racist. It is just the video is bad. It’s not only Enzo. It’s the Argentinian team. I posted this because I felt upset about the video. Enzo is in the video but if he was from another country, I would have posted the same thing.
“For sure, it was a big story because we play in the same team. Of course. But now it is done, it’s good, I’m happy with this situation because he understands me, I understand him, he said sorry, I trust him and that is the most important thing.”
Fofana added: “I don’t care about the money. 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 that we educate everybody.
“He is an example because Enzo is a big player, a big star. He understands that and I’m happy like this.”
