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Former Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel admitted that he would have been unhappy with Enzo Fernandez's comments. The Argentine midfielder has gotten into a heap of trouble recently after posting a song with lyrics that took aim at French players' heritages.
Speaking on the Obi One podcast, he said:
“I will be pissed off because of the way it was said. Again coming back to what I said, every individual has a story. Where they were born, the reason why they’re not representing their African roots, everybody has a story. Until you know the story of others, you can’t judge.
The 23-year-old was among many Argentina players who were singing the song with racist undertones on a bus after the side's Copa America 2024 triumph. He has gone on to receive widespread criticism for his actions and has apologized as well.
It remains to be seen if Chelsea will take any sort of action against Fernandez. He is set to join the squad in the pre-season US tour on July 29, marking the first time he would meet his teammates since the incident.
Chelsea star admits Enzo Fernandez incident could cause trouble in the locker room
Chelsea star Reece James suggested that Enzo Fernandez's comments could cause problems among the teammates. Speaking to ESPN, the right-back stated that he hoped the issue would be resolved soon.
He said:
“Of course. There’s always the factor where it doesn’t sit right with people when there could be a problem. But until the day comes where everyone’s together and in a room together, I don’t know, but I hope things can be resolved smoothly and we can move forward with the season."
He went on to add:
“I spoke to him a bit, but it was hard because we were on different time zones,” he said. “Just a general chat really. His views on what happened and him trying to explain his situation and how things happened."
“It’s a really difficult situation. There’s no room for racism or discrimination in football. I think he quickly put his hand up and acknowledged he’d done wrong and apologised to his teammates, the club and the rest of the people that were offended. I think that was probably the best he could have done in that situation," James added.
Fernandez caught flak after uploading a song that seemingly took aim at the African origin of a host of France players. Many of Chelsea's French players were reportedly unhappy, including the likes of Wesley Fofana, Christopher Nkunku, and Malo Gusto who unfollowed him on Instagram.
The 23-year-old will look to settle differences within the squad and hit the ground running in his second full season for the Blues. Fernandez will look to improve from his tally of seven goals and three assists under new manager Enzo Maresca.
