Former Super Eagles and Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel has offered advice to Copa America 2024 winner Enzo Fernandez following a viral racist incident, Sportblog247.com reports.

Enzo Fernandez, who played a key role in Argentina’s 2022 FIFA World Cup victory, joined Chelsea in January 2023 in a £106.8 million transfer from Benfica, signing an eight-and-a-half-year contract. Despite his success on the pitch, Fernandez recently faced backlash for making racist remarks towards French players of African descent during Argentina’s Copa America celebrations.

Fernandez’s comments have caused an uproar in the Chelsea dressing room, leading some teammates to unfollow him on social media. John Obi Mikel addressed the incident on his Obi One podcast, acknowledging the excitement of victory but condemning Fernandez’s behavior.

“It’s a type of behaviour I won’t condone. These players have different stories; you can’t make fun of them until you understand that. None of them chose to be in this situation, and I get that you want to make fun of them, but it is not right,” said Mikel.

Although Fernandez has issued a public apology, Mikel emphasized that the best way to make amends is through his performance on the pitch.

“The only way he can settle this is by ensuring the team starts winning. If you start winning, it changes everything because of the celebration and the hugs. If Enzo comes back, first game and scores a goal, you will see those players going to hug him. They have to go and hug him, they have to go and celebrate with him. Slowly and surely, that brings the team together. The thing is that time is a healer, but Chelsea needs to start winning. They need to have a good start to the season if that needs to go away. If they don’t, it lingers, and it breeds negativity around the whole place, and we don’t want that. We have a bad season. We need to start well by winning,” Mikel concluded.

Fernandez is currently on holiday and not part of Chelsea’s pre-season tour in the United States.