'He is not racist' - Wesley Fofana speaks out on Enzo Fernandez storm after publicly criticising Chelsea team-mate for discriminatory Argentina chant

Fofana has claimed his Chelsea colleague simply needed educating on why the chant that Argentina's players sang about the French after winning the Copa America was so hurtful. The defender's comments come just two weeks after he described the chant as "uninhibited racism" on social media.

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Fernandez joined his Chelsea teammates on their pre-season tour of the United States on Monday and immediately set about clearing the air. According to the Daily Mail, the 23-year-old issued an apology in a team meeting and pledged to contribute to an anti-discrimination charity.

"You see Enzo is back and I’m happy," Fofana said. "We talked together. I explained why I didn’t like the video. He explained. He said sorry because he did not want to hurt French fans or anyone. He did not understand when singing it.

"And I trust him. Because I know him. I know Enzo. He is not racist. It is just the video is bad. It’s not only Enzo. It’s the Argentinian team. Enzo is in the video but if he was from another country, I would have posted the same thing. For sure, it was a big story because we play in the same team.

"But now it is done, it’s good. I'm happy with this situation because he understands me, I understand him, he said sorry, I trust him, and that is the most important thing. Enzo is a big player in Argentina. I hope this has educated him a bit, because for sure, it is a different culture."

Fofana continued by insisting that he's keen to move on from the controversy for the good of the team.

"If I’m on one side and Enzo is on the other side and we fight every day or we don't talk or we're not happy, on the pitch then we don’t play well," the former Leicester City defender added. "That's not only me and Enzo. It's all the team. It is for that, that we talked. It’s a good club."

Enzo Maresca's Blues will look to improve upon a rocky pre-season - one that's included a 4-1 drubbing at the hands of Celtic - when they take on Club America in their next friendly. There's a good chance we'll see Fernandez feature.