ENZO Fernandez broke his silence after being criticized by teammate Wesley Fofana for “uninhibited racism”.
Chelsea launched an investigation after Fernandez posted a video on Instagram of him and his Argentina team-mates singing a sick and discriminatory song.
But the Argentine midfielder has now turned to the same social media platform to apologize.
He wrote: “I want to sincerely apologize for a video posted on my Instagram channel during the national team celebrations.
“The song includes highly offensive language and there is absolutely no excuse for these words.
“I oppose all forms of discrimination and apologize for being caught up in the euphoria of the Copa América celebrations.
“That video, that moment, those words do not reflect my beliefs or my character. I am truly sorry.”
The World Cup winners beat Colombia 1-0 in Miami on Sunday to claim their second consecutive Copa América trophy.
And footage has emerged showing Argentine players celebrating by singing a racist song on the team bus over the French team after their victory at the Hard Rock Stadium.
The vile chant dates back to the 2022 World Cup, when Argentina defeated France in the final on penalties.
Appearing live on TV, some fans from the South American country sang that France’s players were “all from Angola”.
And they also attacked Kylian Mbappe with a transphobic chant amid reports about his love life.
In the latest video, Chelsea star Fernandez and his teammates could clearly be heard singing the part about Angola.
Fofana, 23 years old, French and son of an Ivorian father, turned to X to express his frustration with the viral clip by writing: “Football in 2024: uninhibited racism”.
French FA chiefs are threatening legal action against Argentina over the incident.
The FFF condemned the chant and added: “In light of the seriousness of these shocking remarks.
“Contrary to the values of sport and human rights, the president of the FFF decided to directly challenge his Argentine counterpart.
“And FIFA is expected to file a legal complaint for insulting comments of a racial and discriminatory nature.”
Chelsea themselves have not yet released a statement.
Fernandez filmed the footage on his phone via Instagram live with the midfielder showing off the celebrations on the team bus.
But seconds after the vile chant began, he turned off the recording.
Football in 2024: uninhibited racism.
Wesley Fofana
Chelsea have several French players such as Christopher Nkunku, Malo Gusto, Axel Disasi, Benoit Badiashile and Lesley Ugochukwu.
Several reportedly stopped following Fernandez on Instagram.
The Argentina squad contains several Premier League players, including Manchester United’s Lisandro Martinez and Alejando Garnacho, Man City’s Julian Alvarez, Liverpool midfielder Alexis Mac Allister, Tottenham’s Cristian Romero and Giovani Lo Celso, and Aston Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez.
It is unclear whether any of them were involved in the singing.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story