Chelsea have released a stern statement condemning disgusting racist abuse aimed at Wesley Fofana
Referee Lewis Smith shows a red card to Wesley Fofana of Chelsea in their clash with Brentford.
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Chelsea has released a statement condemning vile racist abuse directed at defender Wesley Fofana following their 1-1 draw with Burnley in the Premier League. The French defender was sent off in the second half after picking up a second yellow card.
The Blues were a goal to the good at the time of his sending off, after Joao Pedro's first-half strike. However, the Clarets scored a late equaliser through Zian Flemming in injury time after Fofana was given his marching orders.
Now, the club have revealed Fofana has been subjected to racist abuse online and has a released a statement condemning the abuse.
A club statement read: " Chelsea Football Club is appalled and disgusted by vile online racist abuse directed at Wesley Fofana. The targeted racist abuse Wes has been subjected to following today’s Premier League fixture against Burnley is abhorrent and will not be tolerated.
"Such behaviour is completely unacceptable and runs counter to the values of the game and everything we stand for as a club. There is no room for racism.
"We stand unequivocally with Wes. He has our full support, as do all our players who are too often forced to endure this hatred simply for doing their job.
"We will work with the relevant authorities and platforms in identifying the perpetrators and take the strongest possible action."
Fofana exposed the racist abuse sent to him on social media, sharing five stories of the abuse on his Instagram stories.
The Chelsea defender wrote: "2026, it's still the same thing, nothing changes. These people are never punished. You create big campaigns against racism, but nobody actually does anything."
The French defender has been blamed for Chelsea dropping points, with boss Liam Rosenior forced to reshuffle his pack.
The Blues head coach brought Tosin Adarabioyo onto the pitch in place of Cole Palmer as they looked to hang on for the victory.
Rosenior defended Fofana in his post match press conference and said: "That wasn't on Wesley, that was on our performance. From the first goal, we lacked decision, I wanted us to create wave after wave of attack. We were too safe in possession."
Liam Rosenior speaks
Liam Rosenior speaks(Image: Hayters TV)
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It wasn't the only racist incident that came out of the game, with opponents Burnley also releasing a statement condemning racist abuse targeting Hannibal Mejbri.
It's been a poor week for football and racist comments after Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior was the alleged victim of racist comments during their Champions League clash with Benfica.