Enzo Fernandez has disrupted Chelsea's harmony and could curse their season before it even starts, according to Emmanuel Petit.
Fernandez posted a video of himself and fellow Argentina teammates signing a derogatory song about France's black players after the Argentines won the Copa America title last month, leading to accusations of "uninhibited racism" by Chelsea teammate Wesley Fofana. Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca later said the incident was addressed in a meeting involving several players and that Fernandez's apology was accepted by "all," but Petit doesn't believe the matter is so easily resolved.
"Chelsea has enough problems, and then the Enzo Fernandez incident happens," Petit told Gambling Zone. "Can you believe it?
"[There] are so many issues inside and outside the club and then that happens. The club has so many enemies outside, so don’t bring any into the building. Don’t create trouble for yourself.
"It's already a difficult enough environment for the players as it is, and this will make things much worse. A dressing room needs to be harmonious; you can’t have players fighting with each other."
Chelsea are preparing for their first season under new manager Enzo Maresca, who takes over from Mauricio Pochettino. The club have been a revolving door both players and managers in recent seasons, and former Chelsea defender Petit thinks Fernandez has brought more turmoil to a group looking to find stability.
The retired World Cup winner questioned whether other Chelsea players will give the same effort playing alongside Fernandez as they would other teammates.
"Are we going to fight together on the pitch to win games and competitions? Really? Explain to me how the Chelsea players are going to do that," Petit said.
"Are they going to run through brick walls to help Fernandez? I don’t think they will. It’s not going to be the same and it can’t be the same after what he said.
"You can’t normalise racism in society. You see it everywhere and it’s really upsetting. Social media allows people to lose their inhibitions. It’s bulls—. It’s becoming normal in our world.
"I think this incident could really curse Chelsea’s season. As I said, they have so many troubles in the club, don’t bring any more in, especially from your own players."
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