SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca says Enzo Fernandez had “no bad intentions” behind his offensive chants about French players and insisted team spirit has not been damaged at Stamford Bridge.
The midfielder celebrated Argentina's success at the Copa America by posting a video of the team singing a racist and homophobic song about the French heritage of some players.
Fernandez, 23, is currently on holiday and has since apologised, while Chelsea have launched internal disciplinary proceedings and released a statement saying they “acknowledge and appreciate our player's public apology and will use this as an opportunity to educate”.
Chelsea are in the United States preparing for the opening game of their five-match tour against Wrexham in Santa Clara on Wednesday and speaking exclusively to ESPN ahead of that game, Maresca said of the Fernandez incident.
“I don't think there are bad intentions behind it. [it] So from there, it's pretty easy for me. The player has already made a statement apologizing.
“The club did the same thing, so there's not much to add, but the only thing I can say from my point of view is that they are all young people and have good intentions. Good people, good human beings. There was no bad intention.”
Fernandez's Chelsea teammate Wesley Fofana shared the video on 'X' with the words: “Football in 2024: Uninhibited racism.”
French international Fofana is already part of Chelsea's squad in the United States, while Fernandez will join the group on Monday.
As a result, several of Fernández's teammates unfollowed him on Instagram.
Asked if he felt team spirit could be affected by the fallout from Fernandez's outburst, Maresca said: “I don't think so, to be honest. It's probably the immediate reaction.”
“But overall I don't think so. I spoke to Enzo, but as I said, I spoke to all of them. The situation is quite clear. He already made a statement apologising, the club did the same.”
