By Alex Conrad
Football fans have expressed their surprise after Chelsea named Enzo Fernandez as captain for their Premier League opener against Manchester City.
It is one of several bold moves made by new Blues boss Enzo Maresca ahead of his first competitive match in charge at Stamford Bridge, with the Italian dropping Raheem Sterling from the matchday squad.
The decision to hand Fernandez the armband comes attached with a fair amount of controversy given the £107million man sparked a racism storm in the immediate aftermath of Argentina’ Copa America triumph.
In a video on Instagram, Fernandez and a number of his Argentinian teammates were seen singing an offensive song about how some French players have African heritage.
French defender Wesley Fofana, one of Fernandez’s teammates and of Ivorian background, shared the footage and branded it ‘uninhibited racism’.
Fernandez was named as Chelsea’s captain for their season opener against Manchester City
He sparked a racism storm on Instagram after winning the Copa America with Argentina
France football Federation (FFF) president Philippe Diallo also denounced the video, calling it ‘racist and discriminatory’.
Fernandez later issued an apology and said the words he said in the video ‘do not reflect my beliefs or my character’.
It appears Fernandez has done enough internally to regain the trust of his teammates and manager having now been named as captain for the City clash, much to the bemusement of fans on social media.
 @Mobyhaque1 said on X: ‘Enzo Fernandez is their captain after what happened this summer? That club is pure comedy’.
@mediocentr0 added: ‘Enzo Fernandez engages in racism. His punishment? Chelsea hands him the captain’s armband.’
@MarkOgden_ wrote: ‘No Raheem Sterling in Chelsea squad, Sanchez starts in goal despite new GK, summer signing Dewsbury-Hall on the bench and Enzo Fernandez wears the captain’s armband. Nothing ever straightforward at Chelsea…’
 @UtdEra_ posted: ‘Chelsea have also decided to captain Enzo Fernandez after the racism scandal. A very strange club’.
Speaking prior to the game against City, Maresca said Fernandez was one of several options to wear the armband and that the racism saga had been dealt with.
Some in the football community were caught by surprise when Fernandez was named skipper
Maresca was not afraid to shake things up within his squad for the Premier League opener
The decision left many scratching their heads given the racism storm Fernandez sparkedÂ
The Argentinian star quickly apologised for the controversial Instagram live video
‘He’s one of the captains’ Maresca told Sky Sports.
‘He’s not the only captain, but he’s the captain today. I can see his teammates, they like him as a player and as a man.
‘All of us sometimes do some mistakes. The important thing is to recognise this and it’s finished.’Â
In the aftermath of the racism storm, Fernandez pledged to make a significant donation to an anti-discrimination charity.
Fofana, one of five French players in Chelsea’s vast squad, also revealed in late July he had smoothed things over with Fernandez and insisted the Argentinian ‘is not racist.
‘It is just the video is bad,’ Fofana said during Chelsea’s pre-season tour in America.
‘It’s not only Enzo. It’s the Argentinian team. Enzo is in the video but if he was from another country, I would have posted the same thing. For sure, it was a big story because we play in the same team.
‘But now it is done, it’s good. I’m happy with this situation because he understands me, I understand him, he said sorry, I trust him, and that is the most important thing.’Â
Premier LeagueEnzo Fernandez
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Fans rage as Chelsea name Enzo Fernandez as their captain for Premier League opener against Manchester City despite sparking racism storm during Copa America celebrations
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Publish date : 2024-08-18 05:26:00
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