(Bloomberg) -- Argentinian football player Enzo Fernandez will not be punished by Chelsea Football Club after filming himself singing an offensive song about French footballers, following an apology to his teammates, reports say.
Fernandez, 23, also offered to make a significant donation to an anti-discrimination charity, and the internal disciplinary process has now ended, newspapers including the Guardian reported on Tuesday without saying where they got the information.
The football club did not respond to a request for comment.
The matter may not be entirely over, though. A FIFA investigation that started after the French Football Federation filed a complaint with the international footballing body continues. It could result in the Football Association banning Fernandez from domestic matches, according to the reports.
Wider fallout is also ongoing, with Argentina’s national anthem booed ahead of the team’s football defeat against Morocco at the Olympic Games in Paris.
In a livestream broadcast after the Argentina team won the Copa America on July 14, Fernandez and teammates sung a derogatory song about Black French players that was also anti-trans. Wesley Fofana, a Chelsea and France defender described it as “uninhibited racism” and unfollowed Fernandez on social media, along with Chelsea’s six other French players.
Fernandez apologized publicly on Instagram after the video went viral, saying “there is absolutely no excuse for these words” while Chelsea released a statement noting it “finds all forms of discriminatory behaviour completely unacceptable.” He has now joined Chelsea’s pre-season training in the US, where the club is playing a series of friendly matches.
International media, activists and others have been following reactions to the incident closely. The actions of Chelsea, owned by Clearlake Capital Group, have been under especially close scrutiny given the large number of Black French players in the squad.
Kick It Out, one of Britain’s largest anti-racism campaigners, previously said that the response to the incident “cannot start and end with an apology” and that players should be “held accountable” for their actions.
Fernandez moved to Chelsea from Benfica, a Portuguese-based football club, for transfer fee of more than £105 million in January 2023 and has eight years left on his contract. He earns £180,000 a week, according to the Evening Standard.
The club’s response to Fernandez contrasts with its approach to offensive language from its fans, some of whom have received lifetime bans from its stadium.
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