Chelsea have banned Enzo Fernandez for two matches, ruling him out of next weekend’s Premier League game against Manchester City.
LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 30: Declan Rice of Arsenal and Enzo Fernandez of Chelsea embrace after the Premier League match between Chelsea and Arsenal at Stamford Bridge on November 30, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
With Arsenal hoping every side that faces Manchester City puts in as much effort as they do when facing Arsenal, Chelsea have suspended Enzo Fernandez for two games, meaning he will miss the match against Pep Guardiola’s side.
The midfielder has been banned for two matches by his own club after, in Liam Rosenior’s words, “crossing the line” with comments made about his future.
That means he will miss Chelsea’s FA Cup quarter-final against Port Vale and, more significantly from Arsenal’s perspective, the league meeting with City at Stamford Bridge.
The punishment follows public remarks that Chelsea have clearly decided could not pass without a response. After the 3-0 home defeat by Paris St-Germain that ended their Champions League hopes last month, Fernandez told ESPN Argentina there was no guarantee he would still be at the club next season. Then, during the international break, he appeared to invite interest from Real Madrid when he said: “I really like Madrid – it’s similar to Buenos Aires.”
LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 14: Enzo Fernandez of Chelsea speaks with Martin Zubimendi of Arsenal during the Carabao Cup Semi Final First Leg match between Chelsea and Arsenal at Stamford Bridge on January 14, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
Rosenior’s view was that the issue was less about one isolated comment than about standards inside the club. “I think for Enzo, it’s disappointing to speak in that way,” he said. “In terms of him as a character, as a person, I’ve got no bad words to say about him. But I think a line was crossed in terms of our culture and what we want to build. So we had to make a sanction.”
He added: “Enzo, firstly, as a character, a person and a player, I have the utmost respect for what he has achieved and what he is as a player. He’s frustrated because he wants us to be successful.
“In terms of the decision, it’s not all about me, or the sporting directors, the ownership, the players, we are aligned in every decision that we make. It was a joint decision. The door is not closed on Enzo. It’s a sanction. You have to protect the culture, and a line was crossed in the international break.”
That explanation may satisfy Chelsea internally, but it does little to alter the practical effect. One of their most important midfielders will now sit out a match that could have major consequences in the title race, precisely the sort of fixture Arsenal would have hoped Chelsea would approach with full focus.
LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 03: Enzo Fernandez of Chelsea in action during the Carabao Cup Semi Final Second Leg match between Arsenal and Chelsea at Emirates Stadium on February 03, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)
Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images
The noise around Fernandez has only grown with the intervention of his agent, Javier Pastore, who described the punishment as excessive and hinted again at wider tensions between player and club. “I think it’s far too harsh given Chelsea’s current situation, and there’s no real reason or justification for why he’s been banned,” he told The Athletic.
He also said: “There are other factors that influence decisions, whether it’s salary, respect, or the way things are handled… There are so many things that we aren’t seeing at the moment – or at least I, as an agent, am not seeing – that suggest the club is not handling things in the best possible way with him.”
Reports, handily, had already suggested Chelsea’s dressing room had grown frustrated with Fernandez’s leadership during the club’s slump, including his treatment of team-mates during a run of four successive defeats.
He was also said to have been vocal after losses to PSG, Newcastle and Everton, leaving the impression of a club wrestling with strain on and off the pitch.
Rosenior also revealed he had spoken to Marc Cucurella, who criticised Chelsea’s decision to sack Enzo Maresca while away with Spain, but chose not to sanction him. In Fernandez’s case, however, he felt punishment was needed. “I think a lot of this stems from probably the most difficult 10 days of my career as a player or a coach,” he said. “I’ll go back to the first game against PSG [a 5-2 defeat], the performance was top and it all fell apart in 15 minutes and there was a huge emotional dump from that game, which I think fell through to the next three games.
“I feel like not just the comments from Enzo, but Cucu’s [Cucurella’s] interview as well stems from that. They want the club to succeed. But in those moments, I think we need more emotional stability as a group of players, from me as the head coach, as a football club, so that we don’t respond in the way we have done to the setbacks we’ve had.”
What makes the episode look even worse is the contrast with the response to Fernandez’s earlier racist, homophobic and transphobic chant controversy while on Argentina duty.
Chelsea opened internal disciplinary proceedings and condemned the language as “entirely unacceptable”, while Fernandez apologised publicly, saying “the song includes highly offensive language and there is absolutely no excuse for these words” and insisting the video did not reflect his beliefs or character.
Yet despite the seriousness of that incident, he was not suspended for a single minute of club football.
That disparity is difficult to miss. Chelsea have taken a hard line when a player has embarrassed them publicly and cast doubt over his future, but showed no comparable appetite for a playing sanction when the issue was racist behaviour.
For Arsenal supporters watching the title race unfold, the immediate point is simpler and more frustrating. Chelsea have weakened themselves for the visit of City, and done so by choice.
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