Kick It Out ‘disappointed’ by lack of updates on case involving Enzo Fernandez

Anti-discrimination campaigners have still had no update on a racism case involving Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez, four months on from making the request and almost 10 months after the incident.

Fernandez posted a video on social media of himself and other Argentina players singing a derogatory song about France’s black players after winning the Copa America last July.

Kick It Out chief executive Samuel Okafor wrote to football’s world governing body FIFA and to South American confederation CONMEBOL in January seeking answers, but told the PA news agency on Monday: “We’re yet to have a reply sadly, so there’s very little I can say on that one. (I’m) obviously disappointed not to have had a response on that.

“I think that it shows that there’s still a long way to go in terms of how we tackle and handle cases of discrimination more broadly.

“We don’t know if the case is still open, we don’t know if the case is still being investigated. We are yet to receive a response.”

CONMEBOL, which is hosting this week’s FIFA Congress in Paraguay, has been contacted for comment.

Sources close to FIFA have previously indicated that the incident falls under CONMEBOL’s jurisdiction as organisers of the Copa America.

Chelsea opted not to pursue their own disciplinary action against Fernandez after he made a voluntary donation to an anti-discrimination charity.

Fernandez apologised to his Chelsea team-mates over the incident when he linked up with them on last summer’s pre-season tour of the United States, which it is understood was accepted.

Prior to that apology, one of Fernandez’s Chelsea team-mates, Wesley Fofana, had referenced Fernandez’s video in a social media post of his own and described it as “uninhibited racism”.

FIFA has moved to strengthen its anti-racism framework through a series of measures adopted by its ruling Council last Friday.

Among them is one giving FIFA the power to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) where it feels a sanction imposed by a national association or federation is too lenient, as it already can in anti-doping cases.

FIFA will also have the power to intervene if it feels one of its national associations is taking insufficient action in regard to a racism case.

Okafor said these were “positive steps” from FIFA but added: “What’s more important is, when we have cases of discrimination, when the rubber hits the road, what action is actually taken?

“It’s one thing to have statements within your policies, it’s one thing having the power to take action, the one challenge I have probably got is when there are cases of discrimination, will they be fully investigated? Will they use those policies they have introduced recently to ensure there are the right outcomes for each case that happens?”