'The way forward is through education and understanding' - Canovillepublished at 09:52 19 July
Chelsea's first black player Paul Canoville has offered to help in any "restorative process" for Enzo Fernandez.
The club have begun disciplinary proceedings against Fernandez after he posted a video on social media that the French Football Federation said included an alleged "racist and discriminatory" chant.
In a statement released on his foundation's website, external, Canoville said: "There is no room for discrimination of any kind in our society, especially in the sport we all love.
"My personal experiences of racism and hatred are well known, but I have always said that the way forward is through education and understanding.
"Given my continued love and support for Chelsea Football Club and the involvement of one of our players in the incident, I have offered to help support any restorative process that might now take place.
"Through my Foundation, I aim to help people learn through the lens of my experiences before, during and after the abuse I received while playing football, including being able to offer forgiveness where deserved."
Fernandez - a £107m British record signing in February 2023 - said he is "truly sorry" for the video he posted as Argentina celebrated winning the Copa America.
Chelsea team-mate Wesley Fofana posted an image of the video on Instagram, describing it as "uninhibited racism", but Blues forward Nicolas Jackson put a video, external oh his social media seemingly in support of his team-mate Fernandez.
Troy Townsend, the former head of campaign group Kick It Out, said the apology from the 23-year-old and the fact some players appeared to support him pointed to a "growing problem" in the game.
On what should happen now, Townsend said: "The player has to be made aware of the responsibility he has. I'm not going to advocate for match bans or large fines because I don't think football is capable of doing that.
"Chelsea have to do their own club investigation as they are doing, I just worry about the relationships between those players now. How do they mend those broken relationships?"