Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has defended his decision to choose Enzo Fernandez as captain just a month after the Argentine midfielder posted a video containing an allegedly racist chant.
Fernandez wore the armband as Chelsea were beaten 2-0 by Manchester City in their opening Premier League game at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
The 22-year-old, who also took the knee before kick-off as part of the Premier League's anti-discrimination campaign, was forced to apologise after uploading a video mocking the heritage of some France players following Argentina's victory over Colombia in last month's Copa America final.
Chelsea teammate Wesley Fofana called the video “unbridled racism” but later insisted Fernandez was not racist and accepted his apology.
The club has completed its own investigation, but FIFA is continuing its own inquiries.
Fernandez captained the team in the absence of regular captain Reece James against Club America in preseason and Maresca said: “Enzo is one of the captains of this team, he's not the only one. We have Reece James. [James]We have a few more captains.
“The reason is that I can see that his teammates recognise him, as a reference, as a captain, and he was already captain in pre-season when we changed Reece in the game.
“We all make mistakes. It's important to acknowledge that Enzo made a mistake, acknowledge the mistake and that's it.
“I don't know about you, but I made some mistakes in the past and I acknowledged them. As a human being, if you make a mistake and you acknowledge it, you won't be punished for life. Enzo made a mistake and he acknowledged it. For me, he is one of the references and I have nothing to add.”
