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Enzo Maresca discusses Chelsea squad reactions to Enzo Fernandez’s homecoming
Enzo Maresca has confirmed that midfielder Enzo Fernandez apologized to his Chelsea teammates over an offensive chant he posted upon arriving at pre-season training.
Fernandez faced significant controversy after Argentina’s Copa America triumph for sharing a video of himself and teammates singing a chant deemed “racist and discriminatory” by the French Football Federation.
Chelsea’s Wesley Fofana publicly expressed disappointment with Fernandez’s actions, leading some French teammates to unfollow him on social media. While Fernandez apologized publicly immediately after the incident, he also spoke privately to those affected upon returning to training. Maresca believes the divide in the dressing room has since been repaired.
“To be honest, we all feel very comfortable, very good because Enzo is back,” Maresca said. “He had a chat with all of us just to clarify there were no bad intentions and the lads all accepted. Since yesterday’s session, last night, everything was like before in terms of they were all together, all speaking, all laughing. Normal situation.
“I don’t know if the club’s investigation is finished. The only thing I can say is the club did a statement, the player did a statement days ago. The player has arrived here, had a chat with his teammates, had a chat with us and now the situation looks completely normal, like before.”
Reports indicate that club captain Reece James and French center-back Axel Disasi played crucial roles in facilitating the positive discussions.
“Sometimes, most of the time, we used to say it’s an internal thing. But because there is no mystery. The meeting was between me, Enzo, a few players to clarify the situation,” Maresca continued. “There is nothing more to add. There is not any mystery behind.
“We all make mistakes. We have to be good to apologize because sometimes we struggle even to apologize. Enzo apologized already four or five times. They have all accepted it. Since last night the situation is completely normal. Everyone is speaking with each other, everyone is laughing. This is exactly what I expected because I knew there was never any bad intentions and they are all good people. But all of us, sometimes we do mistakes.”
Asked whether Fernandez spoke directly to Fofana, Maresca concluded: “The meeting was between Enzo, some of his mates, Wes was there. They spoke with each other. It is normal sometimes that the first reaction is not always good when they argue, the first interaction is not good. But thinking about it a little bit, day after day, you can understand that there was not any bad intention because they know Enzo is better than me. They know Enzo is a good guy.”