Nicolas Jackson seems to have stepped up in support of his Chelsea colleague Enzo Fernandez amid the controversy surrounding the midfielder's conduct after clinching the Copa America .
Following the 1-0 win against Colombia on Sunday, Fernandez and his Argentina teammates were caught on camera singing a chant that has been slammed as racist and transphobic. The former Benfica star issued an apology when the video surfaced, while Chelsea released a statement denouncing "all forms of discriminatory behaviour".
Wesley Fofana, another member of Chelsea's squad, has openly criticised the chant. "Football in 2024: uninhibited racism," the French defender posted on social media, sharing a snippet of the footage.
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Jackson hasn't released a written statement of his own. But he shared a clip on his Instagram story showing Fernandez interacting with a young black Chelsea fan, along with a photo of himself with the Argentine midfielder and their teammate Marc Cucurella.
The chant sung by the Argentina players in the controversial video starts with: "On passport, French nationality, listen, spread the word, they play in France, but they are all..." - at this point, someone is heard asking for the video recording to be stopped.
The chant in question goes: "Listen, spread the word, they play in France, but they are all from Angola, they are going to run well, they like to sleep with trans people, their mum is Nigerian, their dad is Cameroonian, but on the passport it says: French".
It's not known if those in the video sang further verses. It seems Fofana and his fellow French teammates Malo Gusto and Axel Disasi have stopped following Fernandez on Instagram. As of now, neither Gusto nor Disasi has publicly commented the incident.
Fernandez issued an apology on Tuesday via a statement: "I want to apologise sincerely for a video posted on my Instagram channel during the national team celebrations, the song includes highly offensive language and there is absolutely no excuse for these words.
"I stand against discrimination in all forms and apologise for getting caught up in the euphoria of our Copa America celebrations. That video, that moment, those words, do not reflect my beliefs or my character. I am truly sorry."
Chelsea Football Club also released a statement on Wednesday morning, declaring: "Chelsea Football Club finds all forms of discriminatory behaviour completely unacceptable," and affirming, "We are proud to be a diverse, inclusive club where people from all cultures, communities and identities feel welcome."
"We acknowledge and appreciate our player's public apology and will use this as an opportunity to educate. The Club has instigated an internal disciplinary procedure."
The French Football Federation (FFF) released a statement from its president Philippe Diallo, who "condemns in the strongest terms the unacceptable racist and discriminatory remarks which were made against the players of the French team in the context of a song sung by players and supporters of the Argentina team".
Anti-discrimination charity Kick it Out, meanwhile, said the "video of the Argentina team singing a discriminatory chant is unacceptable and clearly needs to stop".
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