Chelsea star Enzo Fernandez poses in River Plate shirt as boyhood club’s fans sing controversial France chant
Enzo Fernandez has been embroiled in further controversy upon his return to River Plate where fans chanted a discriminatory anti-France song.
The Chelsea midfielder found himself in hot water last week after sharing a video of himself and his Argentina teammates signing the racist chant following the Copa America final triumph.
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Fernandez returned to former side River Plate where he donned their home kitCredit: X/ TNTSportsARIt led to the Blues’ France contingent unfollowing him on Instagram, with Wesley Fofana slamming the ‘uninhibited racism’ on social media.
Fernandez subsequently apologised over the video, with Chelsea launching an investigation after stating that they condemn ‘all forms of discriminatory behaviour’.
And now the 23-year-old has been serenaded by the vile song upon his return to his boyhood club prior to River Plate’s 2-2 draw with Lanus.
The ex-Benfica man, who came through River’s academy before leaving for Europe in 2022, was treated to a standing ovation.
READ MORE FOOTBALL NEWSHe came out on the pitch wearing River’s home shirt where he proceeded to wave to the thousands of supporters.
In reply, the fans inside the Estadio Monumental chanted the racist song aimed at France’s black players in unison to show their support for Fernandez.
The vile and disgusting song, which references the African heritage of a number of the Les Bleus squad, translates to: “They play for France, but their parents are from Angola.
“Their mother is from Cameroon, while their father is from Nigeria. But their passport says French.”
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Chelsea midfielder Fernandez waved to the River faithful ahead of their draw with LanusCredit: AFP
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The River fans then chanted the racist anti-France song to show their support for FernandezCredit: AFPAs the controversy of the chant sung by Enzo Fernandez and other Argentina players against French players continues, River Plate (Enzo’s boyhood club) fans are now singing it at their home ground El Monumental during their game against Lanus. pic.twitter.com/H1zK0PMd97
— Roberto Rojas (@RobertoRojas97) July 21, 2024
It remains to be seen whether Fernandez will face any punishment regarding his involvement in the vile chant being broadcast live.
And while Chelsea teammate Nicolas Jackson has appeared to throw his support behind him, Darren Bent believes his relationship with his French colleagues has been damaged beyond repair.
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The talkSPORT co-host remarked: “It’s not a good look for Enzo Fernandez at all, it’s really not.
“Before Wesley Fofana put that post on social media, I hope they [Chelsea teammates] would have contacted him first and asked the question of ‘what are you playing at?’
“But they’ll never look at him the same ever again regardless of whether he puts out the sorrys and says, ‘I should never have done this.’
“Even if he stands there in front of his Chelsea teammates and says ‘I’m deeply sorry for what I’ve done,’ they’ll never ever look at him the same.
Read More on talkSPORT“In the moment, he’s the one hosting the video. It’s quite clear that this is not his first time singing this song and it’s not their [Argentina squad] first time singing this song because they’re all happy, all singing and they’re all joyful because they’ve just won the Copa America.
“But at the same time, in that relaxed environment and it comes out as easy as it did, his teammates will never trust him the same way.”
