Carlton Cole slams Lionel Messi for remaining silent on racist chants

Carlton Cole, a former Premier League striker, has criticised Lionel Messi in the aftermath of the Argentina racism controversy. Enzo Fernandez, a Chelsea midfielder, caught himself and some of his teammates participating in an ugly chant meant against French people after Argentina won the Copa America.

After some of his Chelsea teammates criticised his conduct online, Enzo Fernandez has offered a public apology. Wesley Fofana was one of the Blues players who posted on social media that such scenarios should never occur. Carlton Cole is now pointing at Lionel Messi for staying silent on the whole issue. 

Meanwhile, Lionel Messi was the only Argentine player who was not present on the bus during the chanting but Carlton Cole stated that Argentina captain Lionel Messi should have made a statement in public as he is the leader of the team. According to Give Me Sports, "We've got a look at Messi and you say, you know what, Messi come out. We need to hear you. I need you to. You’ve got to speak up about this. Because this is more than Enzo. Messi is the main guy there. He's the captain. He needs to come out and say something about this behaviour."

"Otherwise, it's just like he doesn't care. He doesn’t care how I feel, he doesn’t care how some of his black teammates he’s had in the past feel. That just shows me that he's selfish. He needs to come out and say something. I condemn him. Simple. I condemn Messi," he added.

FIFA to take action at Enzo Fernandez

Chelsea has launched disciplinary proceedings against Fernandez after many first-team players expressed their concerns about the incident involving a teammate. FIFA is also claimed to be looking into the incident after the French Football Federation declared its intention to file an official complaint with the governing organisation.

Fernandez and his teammate in the video will have to wait and see what their clubs and FIFA decide.