Chelsea consider the matter of Enzo Fernandez’s involvement in a racist song sung by Argentina players last month to have been dealt with after he apologised to teammates and volunteered a donation to an anti-discrimination charity.
But former Arsenal and Chelsea midfielder Emmanuel Petit does not see how Fernandez’s teammates can possibly co-exist with him in the upcoming season after the incident.
Chelsea’s Wesley Fofana had called out Fernandez for posting footage of the song on social media, but said after the Argentine’ apology: “You see Enzo is back and I’m happy. 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.”
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Emmanuel Petit can’t see how Chelsea can succeed with Enzo Fernandez
However, Petit is unconvinced by claims that the matter will not be playing on any of his teammates’ minds from now on.
The former France midfielder told Gambling Zone: “Are we going to fight together on the pitch to win games and competitions? Really?
“Explain to me how the Chelsea players are going to do that. Are they going to run through brick walls to help Fernandez? I don’t think they will. It’s not going to be the same and it can’t be the same after what he said.
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Emmanuel Petit joined Chelsea from Arsenal in 2001 (Image credit: Ben Radford /Allsport)
“You can’t normalise racism in society. You see it everywhere and it’s really upsetting. Social media allows people to lose their inhibitions. It’s bulls—. It’s becoming normal in our world.
“I think this incident could really curse Chelsea’s season.
“As I said, they have so many troubles in the club, don’t bring any more in, especially from your own players.
