Enzo Fernandez is warned his Chelsea team-mates 'will NEVER look at him the saw way again' following 'racist' Argentina chant - as Darren Bent reveals online abuse he has received for calling out the Argentine

Darren Bent believes Enzo Fernandez has irreparably damaged his relationship with his Chelsea team-mates. 

The Blues midfielder filmed himself and many of his Argentina team-mates singing a 'racist' chant during celebrations of their Copa America win. He appeared to sing a controversial song seemingly claiming French players are 'from Angola' or have a 'Nigerian' mother and a 'Cameroonian' father.

He was accused of 'uninhibited racism' by his French international team-mate Wesley Fofana, while Malo Gusto and Axel Disasi also unfollowed him on social media. 

Fernandez issued a public apology on Tuesday night before reportedly making his apologies to the Chelsea squad. 

But despite Fernandez's pleading, the former Premier League striker believes his Blues colleagues will 'never look at him the same ever again'.

 'I hope they [Chelsea teammates] would have contacted him first and asked the question of ‘what are you playing at?' Bent said on talkSPORT. 'But they’ll never look at him the same ever again regardless of whether he puts out the sorrys and says I should never have done this.

'Even if he stands there in front of his Chelsea teammates and says ‘I’m deeply sorry for what I’ve done’, they’ll never ever look at him the same.

'In the moment, he’s the one hosting the video. It’s quite clear that this is not his first time singing this song and it’s not their [Argentina squad] first time singing this song because they’re all happy, all singing and they’re all joyful because they’ve just won the Copa America.

'But at the same time, in that relaxed environment and it comes out as easy as it did, his teammates will never trust him the same way.' 

Bent had earlier revealed on social media that he had been the target of vile abuse when he critiqued the performance of the Argentina star last season. 

'The last time I spoke about Enzo Fernandez and his performances for Chelsea this is the reaction I got, and this isn’t half of it,’ he said on X, posting two videos which show him scrolling through numerous racist comments posted under his Instagram.

On talkSPORT, he added: 'I wasn’t talking about his personality or him as a character, just simply him as a player. I can’t tell you the amount of abuse that came through.'

In addition to the team-mates who had already condemned Fernandez's actions, David Fofana - who spent last term on loan at Burnley - also declared that 'these acts have no place in football'.

'The football that I like is multi-ethnic.' The Ivory Coast international wrote in an Instagram post. 'Racism in all its forms should be condemned in the strongest possible terms.

'These acts have no place in football or even anywhere else. This fight really needs to be taken seriously by everyone in this sport.'

Fernandez has received the public backing of at least one of his team-mates. Striker Nicolas Jackson shared a clip of Fernandez interacting with a young black child at the end of one of the Blues' pre-season matches last summer. 

He also posted an image of himself and Fernandez sitting next to each other during a training session at the club's Cobham's base. 

Chelsea broke their silence in a statement on Wednesday morning which denounced 'all forms' of discriminatory behaviour.

'Chelsea Football Club finds all forms of discriminatory behaviour completely unacceptable. We are proud to be a diverse, inclusive club where people from all cultures, communities and identities feel welcome,' the club said.

'We acknowledge and appreciate our player’s public apology and will use this as an opportunity to educate. The Club has instigated an internal disciplinary procedure.'

FIFA also revealed that they are investigating the issue. A statement from world football's governing body read: 'FIFA is aware of a video circulating on social media and the incident is being looked into. FIFA strongly condemns any form of discrimination by anyone including players, fans and officials.'

Chelsea have a large number of French players among their squad including Fofana, Malo Gusto, Lesley Ugochukwu, Christopher Nkunku, Axel Disasi and Benoit Badiashile.

Bent believes that new head coach Enzo Maresca and club chiefs now have a big decision to make about how they address the issue that has divided the dressing room. 

'I don’t think he [Fernandez] can get himself out of it, Bent added. 'He’s probably the most relaxed he’s ever been because he’s just won another major honour and that's when the loose lips come out, the free-flowing speech comes out and that’s when you sometimes see what a person’s really like.

'I don’t think he can just coast back into the dressing room and I genuinely believe that Chelsea have got a big decision to make here because this is going to affect them going forward.

'If you’re one of the France players, you’re waiting for Chelsea to do something about this because this almost tells you what side of the fence they’re sitting on.

'If they come out and say we’ll fine him and move on from the matter, I wouldn’t be happy with that at all.

'That’s not backing me, that’s almost just wiping it under the carpet. We’ve seen with UEFA and FIFA these pathetic fines, it doesn’t do anything.

'You’ve got black players in that dressing room. It’s all well and good people hiding behind campaigns and slogans saying we as a football club don’t condone racism, well here’s your opportunity now to lead by example.'