Tone deaf and plain wrong to make Fernandez captain

When Enzo Fernandez was handed the Chelsea armband, there was no notable reaction from the rest of the squad, which was partly why manager Enzo Maresca probably felt the matter was closed.

- MIGUEL DELANEY

The new Italian manager thought it simply wasn’t worth explaining further when asked after Sunday’s 2-0 defeat to Manchester City whether he should have given Fernandez the captaincy.

This was of course after Fernandez had to apologise to Chelsea teammates after being caught on video chanting racist and homophobic slurs against members of the French team amid Argentina’s Copa America celebrations. Maresca pointed to how Fernandez already had the role in the summer.

“I can see his teammates recognise him like a captain,” the manager said. “He is already captain in pre-season. When we make a mistake it is important to recognise. Enzo did and, at the end, it is finished.” Maresca continued: “I did mistakes in the past and I recognise, and I think, if as a human being you make a mistake and recognise, you are not going to be punished for life.”