Latest news with #WesleyFofana
The Sun
8 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Will Enzo Fernandez be punished for racism row? Latest update on Chelsea star's inflammatory song about Kylian Mbappe
ENZO FERNANDEZ takes on his old club Benfica tonight at the heart of the Chelsea revolution under boss Enzo Maresca. The Portuguese giants made a staggering £96million PROFIT when they sold the Argentinian midfielder to the Blues in 2023 — just six months after buying him for £10m. 2 2 Even so, the fixture reopens old wounds over his departure — and a most unsavoury incident which took place a year ago next month. Benfica were angry at the way they claimed Chelsea unsettled their player and then ducked and dived during negotiations. But that's business. What is not 'business' is the cloud of racism hanging over the Blues' vice-captain that is not yet fully cleared. Fans back in England have seen plenty of great football from Fernandez this past 12 months. But nothing has been heard from the authorities charged with investigating the moment of madness that has followed the player around since he went viral for all the wrong reasons. Fernandez, 24, was filmed heartily joining in with dreadful songs alongside his Argentina team-mates questioning the heritage of black French players. The midfielder had just won Copa America for his country, only to let himself down massively when he should have been in a celebratory mood. With a large contingent of black French players in Chelsea's squad — Wesley Fofana, Malo Gusto, Benoit Badiashile and Axel Disasi — the reaction was understandably incendiary. The Instagram post also carried a transphobic jibe at French superstar Kylian Mbappe and a reported relationship with transgender model Ines Rau. Fernandez apologised profusely. Fofana and those affected by the bombshell video say they have accepted it and have moved on. Club World Cup 2025 Guide SOME of the world's biggest clubs are in action at this summer's Club World Cup in the United States! Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Man City, and Inter Miami are among the 32 teams taking part in the tournament, which runs from June 14 to July 13. The likes of Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland, Ousmane Dembele, Cole Palmer and Harry Kane are showcasing their skills to packed crowds across the US. Watch EVERY match of the Club World Cup 2025 on DAZN INFO Everything you need to know about the Club World Cup LATEST NEWS & FEATURES There certainly does not appear to be any disharmony over it within the Chelsea camp. For that, those players in the dressing room who were so hurt by the rash actions of a team-mate deserve unreserved respect and admiration. News of a 'probe' being launched was posted on social media not long after Argentina had beaten Colombia 1-0 in the final yet there is still no conclusion. Fifa says it is the responsibility of South America's governing body Conmebol and SunSport has contacted them for an update — but is yet to receive a reply. Fernandez made a donation to an anti-discrimination charity as well as saying sorry to his team-mates, say Chelsea. And the club also claimed they would use the episode as an opportunity to 're-educate' their player. At the last time of asking there was no clear detail available of what that actually entails. The club wants to keep it in-house. And, in a remarkable show of defiance, new head coach Maresca backed his man by making him captain for the opening Premier League game of last season against Manchester City. Fernandez appears to have put the whole thing behind him and is now a key figure in a team that is back in the Champions League. But the silence around the investigation into a moment of madness that went worldwide within hours — and damaged the reputation of a fine player and an upstanding football club — is deafening.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Chelsea: Wesley Fofana will not be added to Blues' Club World Cup squad, Enzo Maresca confirms
Moving on: Enzo Maresca's face Benfica in the Club World Cup round of 16 (Chelsea FC via Getty Images) Enzo Maresca confirmed that Wesley Fofana will not be added to Chelsea's Club World Cup squad after the injured defender joined up with the team camp. The Blues secured their progression to the knockout stages of the summer tournament in the small hours of Wednesday morning, beating ES Tunis 3-0 in Philadelphia. Advertisement Maresca now has the option to add two new players to his squad, but confirmed that Fofana, who was limited to just 14 appearances last season through injury, is not yet ready to play. "Wesley is here because he is trying to be with us and recover with us,' the Italian explained. 'There is no chance he can be with us in the squad. At the moment, there is no plan to bring other players.' Fofana signed to Chelsea for a reported £70million in 2022, but his career in West London has been limited by repeated hamstring injuries. He has played for the club just 34 times. Chelsea's group stage campaign was not without its flaws - the Blues' progression was in doubt after they lost to Flamengo last week - and Maresca was relieved to be moving on. Advertisement He continued: 'Especially after the defeat it was important to bounce back and win, and we won the game and can start to think about the next one. 'It was very important to be patient, and then when we found the goal the game was a little bit more open. 'We are happy for all the players, especially the ones who were for a long time without minutes. 'It's impossible not to rotate players because playing every three days in these conditions means it's not possible for them to play every game.' After Atletico Madrid were sent home early on Monday, Maresca added that Chelsea should be proud to progress in the competition. Advertisement 'There are clubs in the last five or six years that have played Champions League finals, like Atletico Madrid, who are back home. 'So we need to be proud and happy – and now we are in the Round of 16, the target is to go through to the last eight.' Chelsea will face Benfica in the next round, and, should they win that tie, will then meet either Palmeiras or Botafogo in the quarter-finals.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
How to watch Chelsea vs ES Tunis live: Stream link, TV channel, team news, prediction
A win or a draw will see Chelsea through to the knockout rounds of the 2025 Club World Cup on Tuesday (9 pm ET), when the Blues close out Group D play against Tunisian side Esperance de Tunis. MORE — 2025 Club World Cup schedule, results, tables, how to watch live Advertisement One goal is all that separates Chelsea (2nd place) from ES Tunis (3rd) heading into Tuesday's pivotal finale at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Brazilian side Flamengo has already clinched the top spot in Group D with wins over both sides. MORE — How much prize money will each club get at Club World Cup? Chelsea led after Pedro Neto opened the scoring in the 13th minute and that lasted until the hour mark on Friday, but the Blues conceded back-to-back goals in the 62nd and 65th, before Nicolas Jackson was sent off in the 68th and Flamengo added a third in the 83rd. Group D standings Advertisement Flamengo — 6 points (+4 GD) — CLINCHED GROUP D Chelsea — 3 points (0 GD) Esperance de Tunis — 3 points (-1 GD) LAFC — 0 points (-3 GD) — ELIMINATED How to watch Chelsea vs ES Tunis live, stream link and start time Kick off time: 9 pm ET Tuesday (June 24) Venue: Lincoln Financial Field — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania TV Channel/Streaming: Watch live on DAZN, for free Chelsea team news, focus OUT: Wesley Fofana (undisclosed), Omari Kellyman (hamstring) ES Tunis team news, focus Tunisian champions eight of the last nine seasons, including the last two, Esperance picked up their first win of the Club World Cup on Friday as they beat MLS side LAFC 1-0 at GEODIS Park in Nashville, Tennessee. Algerian international Youcef Belaili scored the game's only goal in the 70th minute. The 33-year-old scored 20 goals in 37 games during the most recent season, his first at the club. Chelsea vs ES Tunis prediction Perhaps the collapse against Flamengo will be a wake-up call; perhaps an indicator of more struggles to come. Not yet, but soon (in the next round, when they face Bayern Munich). Chelsea 2-0 ES Tunis.
Daily Mail
11-06-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Chelsea leave ANOTHER £80m star out of their Club World Cup squad
Wesley Fofana has not been included in Chelsea 's Club World Cup squad with the decision made to allow him to focus on getting fit for the next Premier League season. The 24-year-old Frenchman, who Blues boss Enzo Maresca has gone on record as saying he is 'in love' with, is still working his way back from hamstring surgery in April. Rather than rush his return for the tournament in the United States, Fofana is being treated with caution as he is considered a key defender for their next campaign. Chelsea have filed their final list of players to FIFA ahead of the Club World Cup's start this weekend. The Blues are due to face Los Angeles FC in their first group game in Atlanta this Monday and the travelling squad is set to be officially announced later today. While Fofana will not be named in that list, Mail Sport understands he may still travel to the United States for a period so he can be around team-mates in a united setting. Fofana was also left out of Chelsea's Conference League squad in the last season in a bid to manage his minutes. His appearances were limited in 2024-25 as he came back in March but was then forced into another lengthy spell on the sidelines, going under the knife in April. As per the rules of the Club World Cup, Chelsea will be able to add new players to their squad between June 27 to July 3 for the knockout stages of the tournament.
New York Times
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Row Z's end of season special: Gianni Infantino takes on Cristiano Ronaldo for the humility award
Welcome to Row Z, The Athletic's weekly column that shines a light on the bonkers side of the game. From clubs to managers, players to organisations, every Friday throughout the 2024-25 season we have brought you the absurdities, the greed, the contradictions, the preposterousness and the oddities of the sport we all love. We'll end on a high (low) note today with the Row Z 2024-25 Season Awards. Good luck Gianni, we're all rooting for you… Honourable mention: Al Nassr When a YouTuber named Abu Omar dared to do an innocent impression of supervillain Lionel Messi at the home of Cristiano Ronaldo, Al Nassr gave a calm and measured response. 'What happened yesterday inside the dressing room in terms of individual (irresponsible) actions is unacceptable by some people who do not appreciate the value of the party they represent, nor the place and entity that left it.' Runner-up: Chelsea If they weren't selling the women's team to themselves to help balance the books, or being busy compiling the most expensive football squad of all time so they could win a trophy having been pitted against part-timers and farmers, Chelsea were making a firm stand on racism. July 2024: Midfielder Enzo Fernandez was filmed singing an offensive song about France's black players, who included Wesley Fofana, after winning the Copa America with Argentina. Advertisement Fofana called it 'uninhibited racism'. He later accepted an apology from his team-mate and said he 'did not understand' what he was singing, with Fernandez making a sizeable donation to an anti-discrimination charity that Chelsea then match-funded. Fernandez also apologised in public with a post on social media. August 2024: Chelsea handed Fernandez the captain's armband. Winner: Manchester United What a season they've had! Some highlights… Sacking sporting director Dan Ashworth five months after spending £2.5million ($3.4m) to lure him from Newcastle. Sacking head coach Eric ten Hag and his staff (which cost them £10.4m) a few months after bankrolling Ten Hag's summer transfer spending to the tune of around £200m. And then spending another £11m hiring Ruben Amorim and his six coaching staff. No wonder they had to double some ticket prices for older people and kids, what with a leaky roof to fix as well. It's been a hell of a run for INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who took over a football club sixth in the Premier League and have currently rooted them in 15th. At least the women's team reached the FA Cup final, not that Sir Jim was able to attend for the second season in a row, having earlier turfed the team out of their own training ground building and told them to use portacabins. Then there were hundreds of redundancies, the cancelling of free lunches and Christmas parties, the organisation of a barbecue to celebrate winning the Europa League (which didn't go too well). Oh, and they designed a new stadium that looks like a circus tent. It's important to remember the INEOS mantra at times like these: 'Best in class.' 'Morale will be driven by success on the pitch,' Ratcliffe predicted in December. 'We want people here who are either happy or unhappy on a Monday morning depending on what happened at the weekend.' How's that going? Well, United were last seen throwing their goalkeeper up for a corner in stoppage time during a 1-0 defeat to ASEAN All-Stars. Club morale might need checking on. Runner-up: Cristiano Ronaldo During a discussion about who the greatest footballer of all time might be, Ronaldo's response was unequivocal. 'I believe so, sincerely,' he said, when naming who he think is the best player to ever kick a ball in the history of the sport. 'I've never seen anyone better… I say it from the heart,' he added, before calling the individual concerned, 'the most complete player that's ever existed, in my opinion'. Advertisement Who was he talking about? Pele? Diego Maradona? To be honest, there's no need for a punchline — you know the answer. Winner: Gianni Infantino But the winner has to be our Gianni, the man who has been the driving force behind the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup. The tournament promises to be a roaring success – Robbie Williams is going to sing at it and he said it's going to be 'massive'. The tournament will determine once and for all who is the best club team in the whole world. Well, except it won't feature the current best team in England (Liverpool), because they're not invited. Neither are the second-best team in England (Arsenal). Or the current best team in Spain (Barcelona). Or in Italy (Napoli), come to think of it. Anyway, Austria's third-best team (Red Bull Salzburg) will definitely be there, as will Inter Miami, despite them having never won the MLS Cup. Ronaldo might be crowbarred into the competition too, as Gianni told a lad on YouTube last week. So, all told, if you want a ticket for the final, £1,795 to sit in the lower bowl feels like decent value. Anyway, seeing as Gianni has planned it all, it's only fair that his name is engraved on the FIFA Club World Cup trophy (not once, but twice), including a line which says the tournament was inspired by him. We can't wait. Honourable mention: Jhon Duran, who posted a West Ham 'Irons' emoji on Instagram when being linked with a move from Aston Villa to the London Stadium in the summer, then flirted with Bayern Munich after scoring against them by calling them 'the club of my dreams', then signed a new contract with Villa and then fell in love with Al Nassr for a reported 320,000 reasons every week. Winner: Jurgen Klopp to Red Bull. 'I'm a football romantic,' Jurgen Klopp told Marca in 2017. 'I like tradition in football and all that stuff.' All that stuff. Winner: UR Cristiano If you're lucky enough to be one of Ronaldo's 75 million subscribers (sorry, siuuuubscribers… this is genuinely a thing) on YouTube you'll have enjoyed the following videos (again, these are genuine titles): The highlight, though, was undoubtedly an interview with his old mate Rio Ferdinand, during which Ronaldo referred to himself in the third person on no fewer than 10 occasions. During an intense Frost/Nixon-esque grilling about how great Ronaldo is, the subject turned to the thorny issue of Saudi Arabia and its 'issues'. Would Ronaldo use the opportunity to highlight horrendous acts of violence and oppression taking place in his new favourite country? Let's find out… Ronaldo: 'It was very easy for me (to decide to move to Saudi). We can speak about religion or the weather, but no country is perfect.' Advertisement Ferdinand: 'It's interesting what you said that no country is perfect. That's exactly what I was thinking when I saw you go (in 2022)… a lot of the western world are pointing the finger saying negative stuff, I'm like: 'Are we that good?' Everyone has problems but it's about facing the problems and taking a step forward.' Ronaldo: 'For me, all the countries have their issues, it's normal.' They're just normal men. Anyway, to be fair to Ronaldo it was probably for the best that he held back on any negativity given that, according to Amnesty International, people who are critical of the regime are imprisoned and even sentenced to death. Siuuuuuuu! Thomas Tuchel was appointed as England manager and the Daily Mail and Danny Mills took it well. 'A DARK DAY FOR ENGLAND' screamed the Mail, while adding: 'Now we have a gun for hire who owes us nothing and will pass through our game with a huge cheque and no connection to the fans or players. 'We are the laughing stock of the world game.' Meanwhile, Mills just said what we were all thinking: 'Often we see him in a hoodie and a cap on the sidelines, will that be his managerial stance as England manager? That's not really something we're used to, it's always a suit, effectively, and looking very, very smart.' Hull City sacked Tim Walter with the club third bottom of the Championship, which seemed fair enough, but the timeline of events was truly glorious. 6.37pm on Tuesday: Hull's owner, Acun Ilicali, said live on BBC Radio Humberside before the home match against Sheffield Wednesday: 'I would never put the blame on Tim. I'll put the blame on me too.' And the key question: 'If you were to lose tonight, would Tim still be in a job?' Ilicali: 'Yes, he will be in the job. If we lose tonight, he's going to be in the job.' Advertisement 9.39pm: Final score, Hull City 0-2 Sheffield Wednesday. 5pm on Wednesday: He sacked Walter. It was the final year at Goodison Park and Everton wanted fans to share their memories of the grand old place on social media. However, at the time, the team were heading for yet another relegation scrap and, well… — Mr Robot (@bittertoffee) September 1, 2024 — 𝗣𝗘𝗗 (@PED7) September 1, 2024 Still, all's well that ends well… Turns out me and flares dont mix too well — James (@Jab0702) May 19, 2025 When Chris Smalling was playing for Manchester United or Roma, he tended to tweet pretty generic pictures of himself from matches he'd played in. Then he went to the Saudi Pro League and was just so impressed by the future of urban living that he had to tell everyone about it. 'Can you tweet something like…' THE LINE A cognitive city stretching across 170 kilometers, from the mountains of NEOM across desert valleys to the Red Sea. A mirrored architectural masterpiece towering 500 meters above sea level, but a land-saving 200 meters wide. Unique solar and wind advantages for 100%… — Chris Smalling (@ChrisSmalling) September 22, 2024 And finally…. Even the pros get it wrong from time to time… 🫣😂#EFL | #SkyBetLeagueTwo — Sky Bet League Two (@SkyBetLeagueTwo) November 17, 2024
