Chelsea defender Wesley Fofana has explained how the Blues dressing room recovered from its divisions after Enzo Fernandez’s was filmed singing a ‘racist’ chant aimed at France players.
The Frenchman was one of the most vocal critics of the midfielder’s actions, which were inadvertently captured in a live stream during raucous Argentina celebrations following their Copa America triumph.
Fofana accused Fernandez of ‘uninhibited racism’, while a number of other Blues players unfollowed the Stamford Bridge star man on social media. Immediately after joining his team-mate on tour in the United States, the £106.8million signing apologised to his colleagues in person.
He had been in constant contact with players since publicly and privately saying sorry and Fofana has opened up on these discussion and insisted reconciliation was achieved.
‘It was sorted out in a very good way,’ he told Free Foot. ‘He came back, and we had a discussion with the club, with the manager; we had a meeting. We explained why we took it badly because it was important for him to understand why it wasn’t a good thing for him to do and why we took it badly.
Wesley Fofana has opened up on how the Chelsea dressing room was able to recover over the summer
Enzo Fernandez made a swift apology to his Chelsea team-mates he had offended while away with Argentina
Fofana reposted the video via X alongside the words: ‘Football in 2024: uninhibited racism’
‘We explained it to him. We understood in his speech that he didn’t understand that it could have hurt us. He didn’t understand that it was something serious.’
Fernandez voluntarily offered to make a contribution to an anti-discrimination charity in recognition of his misjudegment, which impressed his Blues bosses.
Fofana, who revealed that he contemplated leaving west London over the summer, has become key to new boss Enzo Maresca’s defence after recovering from a knee injury that sidelined him for the totality of the 2023-24 campaign.
He has played 90 minutes in all three of the Blues’ Premier League matches so far this season, alongside Fernandez, as they have made a steady start to life under the Italian.
The 23-year-old added: ‘The best thing to do is to educate him to make him understand that certain things, in certain countries, that are perhaps acceptable in that country but that in others it is very serious and that it is punishable by the law.
‘I think he understood and now we move forward. We are a team and he is a great player. He is an example so I hope that he will be an example in the right way for everybody.’
Enzo Maresca’s side travel down to the south coast on Saturday night to face an in-form Bournemouth
Chelsea return to Premier League action against Bournemouth on Saturday night, hoping to record their second win of the season.
The Saturday night clash at the Vitality could see deadline-day signing Jadon Sancho make his debut for the club.
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