Enzo Maresca has said he does not believe there will be ‘problems’ when Enzo Fernandez returns to Chelsea for pre-season.
Chelsea opened an ‘internal disciplinary procedure’ against Fernandez last week after the midfielder was filmed singing a racist chant about France following Argentina’s Copa America win against Colombia.
Fernandez broadcast the celebrations on Instagram, in which the Argentina players are heard singing the chant which features racist and homophobic comments about the heritage of some French players.
Fernandez plays alongside several black French teammates at Chelsea including Christopher Nkunku, Benoit Badiashile, Axel Disasi, Wesley Fofana, Malo Gusto, and Lesley Ugochukwu.
Fofana hit out on social media, sharing the video with the caption ‘Football in 2024: Uninhibited racism’. The defender, Gusto and Disasi all unfollowed Fernandez on Instagram.
Maresca has spoken about the incident ahead of Chelsea’s first pre-season came and said he does not anticipate problems upon Fernandez’s return from his post-tournament break.
“I don’t think there will be problems with Enzo Fernandez when he returns. There were no bad intentions, I spoke with Enzo. It’s all clear now,” Maresca said at a press conference ahead of Chelsea’s friendly with Wrexham.
“It’s all clarified by the player and the club, so that’s it. Enzo has apologised, there’s no problem at all.”
Chelsea captain Reece James also opened up on the situation and said the issue will be resolved ‘in house’.
“It’s obviously a really difficult situation,” James said.
“I think Enzo acknowledged he did wrong and quickly put his hand up and apologised to the club, the team and the people offended.
“He hasn’t arrived yet so I don’t know if there’s anything to amend. I’ll have to make that judgement when he comes back in.
“But I hope everyone will be on the same page and can kind of move forward from this situation.
“I’ve spoken to Enzo and everyone involved but the conversations have to stay in house.”
