Chelsea boss Rosenior backs Fofana after racist abuse and shrugs off financial concerns

• Liam Rosenior says Wesley Fofana is coping well after being subjected to racist abuse following Chelsea’s draw with Burnley.
• The Chelsea head coach reiterated his strong stance against racism, calling for continued efforts to eradicate it from football and wider society.
• Rosenior insists Chelsea’s record financial loss will not affect his focus on team performance or transfer planning.

Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior has said Wesley Fofana is a “tough guy” and is “absolutely fine” after the defender was racially abused following Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Burnley.

Fofana shared screenshots of abusive messages he received online after being sent off during the match at Stamford Bridge. The UK Football Policing Unit confirmed it is investigating the incident, alongside other reported cases from the past week.

Burnley midfielder Hannibal Mejbri also posted examples of abuse he had received, while Wolves striker Tolu Arokodare and Sunderland winger Romaine Mundle were similarly targeted in separate incidents. All four clubs condemned the abuse, as did the Premier League.

Rosenior had already addressed the issue of racism in football earlier in the week, following allegations made by Real Madrid forward Vinícius Júnior during a Champions League match against Benfica. Speaking ahead of Chelsea’s Premier League trip to Arsenal, Rosenior said the latest episode was deeply troubling.

“It was a tough day for Wes, firstly what happened in the game, secondly the fallout and racist abuse that he got online,” Rosenior said. “Wes is a tough guy, he’s a good guy. But it’s amazing, we spoke about racism last week. It affects you. It shouldn’t exist, whether it’s online, verbal, in person. It’s something we have to try our best to eradicate from life.

“But Wes is absolutely fine, he trained well this week.”

Chelsea also confirmed a pre-tax loss of £355 million for the 2024-25 financial year, the largest ever recorded by an English club and second only to Barcelona’s £484 million loss in 2021 across Europe.

Despite the scale of the figures, Rosenior insisted the financial situation would not distract him from his responsibilities or affect his focus on results and squad development.

“My job is to focus on the team, to try and make the squad as strong as possible to eventually win things,” he said. “That’s why I’m here. I will have conversations with the ownership and the guys above me, but it’s not at the forefront of my mind. I just want to make sure on the pitch we’re as successful as possible.”