Chelsea star Enzo Fernandez to escape FA ban over racist chanting – but Argentina midfielder could still be punished

Enzo Fernandez is poised to escape an FA ban over his racist chanting, talkSPORT understands.

The Chelsea midfielder sparked uproar after filming himself singing a racist and derogatory chant following Argentina’s Copa America triumph over Colombia in July.

The song references how many of France’s players are of African heritage, with a translated version being: “They play for France, but their parents are from Angola. Their mother is from Cameroon, while their father is from Nigeria. But their passport says French.”

Fernandez could be seen laughing in the video he shared on his Instagram live, while other members of Argentina’s squad joined in on the national team bus.

It led Blues teammate Wesley Fofana to label the clip as ‘uninhibited racism’, with the Frenchman one of a number of Blues stars to unfollow him on social media.

And it also sparked a diplomatic row as the Argentinian undersecretary for sport, Julio Garro, left his position after suggesting Lionel Messi should apologise on behalf of the national team.

Chelsea subsequently launched an investigation into the matter, which saw Fernandez immediately apologise over his actions.

Meanwhile, FIFA also got involved after the French Football Federation lodged a complaint towards world football’s governing body.

But it is understood that Fernandez will face no punishment from the FA, who have deemed the racism case a FIFA matter.

Unlike Rodrigo Bentancur’s FA charge regarding comments made over Tottenham captain Son Heung-min, Fernandez was on international duty, as opposed to the Spurs midfielder who wasn’t.

While the 23-year-old may be spared a Chelsea ban, he could still be slapped with an international suspension by FIFA.

Legal officials from FIFA are still waiting to hear from CONMEBOL – South American football’s governing body – before they decide to take any disciplinary action.

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Fernandez linked up with Chelsea on their pre-season tour of America where he issued a private apology to his teammates to their face, which was accepted.

Boss Enzo Maresca and defender Levi Colwill then stated that the internal matter has been resolved.

In the absence of suspended captain Reece James, Fernandez has led Chelsea in each of their opening three Premier League matches.

But even though the right-back’s suspension now complete, he is set to remain out of action as he nurses yet another hamstring injury.

It will likely see Fernandez wear the armband for a fourth consecutive match when Chelsea face Bournemouth in Saturday’s 8pm kick-off at the Vitality Stadium – live on talkSPORT.

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