Why Enzo Fernandez avoids FA charge as Rodrigo Bentancur faces ban for racial slur

Chelsea star Enzo Fernandez is set to avoid punishment from the Football Association for racist chanting, despite charging Rodrigo Bentancur for comments regarding Tottenham team-mate Son Heung-min.

Bentancur is facing a ban of up to 12 games for suggesting back in June that all South Korean people “look the same”, and has until next Thursday to respond to the charge.

Fernandez, weeks later, was filmed chanting racist and homophobic slurs about the France team while on international duty with Argentina. But FA are not expected to intervene.

That is because the FA believes the incident - which took place during the Copa America this summer - falls under the jurisdiction of FIFA.

A FIFA spokesperson previously said: “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."

Although Bentancur’s comments were made during an appearance on Uruguayan television, the FA have charged the Spurs man because had not yet been released by Tottenham for international fixtures.

There is precedence. The FA did not sanction Manchester City star Rodri for comments made about Gibraltar while with Spain after winning Euro 2024.

Chelsea conducted an investigation into Fernandez’s behaviour after his return, with the player apologising to his team-mates as well as contributing to an anti-discrimination charity which the club matched. The Argentine has since been given the captain’s armband.

Blues defender Wesley Fofana initially called the comments “uninhibited racism”, but has since revealed his French team-mates decided to educate Fernandez about the situation.

“It was sorted out in a very good way,” Fofana said. “He came back, and we had a discussion with the club, with the manager, we had a meeting.

“We explained why we took it badly because it was important for him to understand why it wasn’t a good thing for him to do and why we took it badly. We explained it to him.

“We understood in his speech that he didn’t understand that it could have hurt us. He didn’t understand that it was something serious.”

“The best thing to do is to educate him to make him understand that certain things, in certain countries, that are perhaps acceptable in that country but that in others it is very serious and that it is punishable by the law.

"I think he understood and now we move forward. We are a team and he is a great player. He is an example so I hope that he will be an example in the right way for everybody.”