Chelsea forward Nicolas Jackson has taken to social media to show his support to Enzo Fernandez in light of the heavily-condemned video that has emerged over the past 48 hours.
On Sunday night, Argentina defeated Colombia to win the Copa America, leading to widespread celebrations on the back of yet another major triumph.
However, the success has been marred by a video put out by Fernandez that showed the midfielder and his Argentina teammates singing a song that involved racist language towards French people.
The song in question featured the words: "They play for France, but their parents are from Angola. Their mother is from Cameroon, while their father is from Nigeria. But their passport says French."
FFP president Philippe Diallo and Fernandez's Chelsea teammate Wesley Fofana hit out at the video, while the latter and at least two other French players from the Premier League side unfollowed Fernandez on Instagram.
In response, the 23-year-old has released a public apology, saying that he is "truly sorry" and makes no excuses for the social media post; Chelsea have also condemned the incident in an official statement.
© Reuters
How has Jackson reacted?
There has been little response from Chelsea's first-team squad, aside from Fofana publicising his disgust at the video on Tuesday evening.
Although Fernandez has received widespread criticism, Jackson has seemingly made an attempt to support his teammate and try to diffuse the situation.
Nicolas Jackson on Instagram: pic.twitter.com/jc7GElVQiZ
— Absolute Chelsea (@AbsoluteChelsea) July 17, 2024
Jackson also posted a short video of Fernandez playing football with a young fan after a game from earlier in the season.
The Senegal international is among the Chelsea players who are currently at the club's training facilities as they prepare for the 2024-25 campaign.
Fernandez is about to embark on a break of at least two weeks having been representing his country since the start of June, including training and friendlies ahead of the Copa America.
A report in The Telegraph says that the club's second most-expensive signing in history has also since apologised to his teammates.
© Reuters
Will that be the end of the matter?
That is yet to be decided, but Chelsea have acknowledged that they have opened an 'internal disciplinary procedure' to deal with the incident.
There is no indication that Fernandez will be considered for a transfer. He is on a contract until 2032 and Chelsea are not in a position to cash in on him, aware that no clubs will spend the bare minimum of £85m to £90m that would be required to avoid making a loss with regards to the relevant financial rules.
Darren Plant
