In response to an international break rebellion at Chelsea, Liam Rosenior has thrown the book at Enzo Fernandez and he’s absolutely right to pick the racist, arrogant midfielder as his preferred hill to die on at Stamford Bridge for the greater good of the football club.

Chelsea paid a British-record ￡105m to sign Fernandez from Benfica, stuck by him when he failed spectacularly to live up to that price tag for at least his first year at the club and then showed him grim “unwavering support” after teammate Wesley Fofana called out the “uninhibited racism” he displayed while away with Argentina.

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He’s repaid the Chelsea faith by using the international break like a relationship amnesty, twirling his hair amid interest from Real Madrid in his services.

When asked recently if he would be at Chelsea next season, Fernandez said: “I don’t know, there are eight games left and then the FA Cup. Then there’s the World Cup, and then we’ll see.”

Fernandez also said he “didn’t understand” why Enzo Maresca was sacked (we’re with him there) before insisting he fancies living in Madrid.

“I’d like to experience, I don’t know, live there,” he said. “I really like Madrid, it reminds me a lot of Buenos Aires.”

Subsequent reports have revealed that the BlueCo bosses have been left ‘unimpressed’ with his outburstsand that several Chelsea players are ‘unhappy’ with Fernandez ‘berating’ them in recent games.

It would have been an international break all about Fernandez misdemeanours had it not been for?Marc Cucurella also breaking ranks to tear into the club that pays his wages and admit that an offer from Barcelona would be “difficult to refuse”.

Rosenior explained why he was “disappointed” with Cucurella’s comments in his press conferenceahead of the FA Cup quarter-final vs Port Vale on Saturday, after revealing the Fernandez “sanction”.

“I spoke with Enzo an hour ago,” Rosenior said. “As a football club, with me as part of the decision, he won’t be available for tomorrow’s game or Manchester City next Sunday. A line was crossed in terms of our culture and what we want to build.

“It’s not ideal. A lot of this stems from a difficult 10 days. I’ll go back to the first game against PSG, it all fell apart in 15 minutes and there was a huge emotional dump that led into the next three games. The comments from Enzo, and Cucu’s interview, stems from that. It stems from a good place where they want the club to succeed.

“Enzo, firstly, as a character, a person and a player, I have the utmost respect. 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 our decision. The door is not closed on Enzo. It’s a sanction. You have to protect the culture and in terms of that, a line was crossed.

“Even at Everton, there was no lack of commitment in his performance. In terms of speaking for him, what he wants and his future, it’s not for me to speak about.”

Rosenior insists “the door is not closed” on Fernandez but the sheer arrogance of the man to flirt with Real Madrid on the back of a Blues slump that he’s been at the centre of, after the club backed him through thick but mainly thin, is cause to slam it firmly in his face.

The decision may well come back to bite Rosenior. Only Joao Pedro (24) has got more goal contributions in all competitions than Fernandez (18) this season and if the Chelsea manager’s future relies upon Champions League qualification, the midfielder’s absence for Manchester City and maybe beyond represents a significant blow to their chances.

For better but probably worse, Fernandez is also a leader in the Chelsea dressing room. Despite apparent aversion to him among some of the players, he has a voice he makes heard and it’s reasonable on the back of this sanction and what he’s already said about his love for Maresca that Fernandez will be sowing seeds of doubt in his teammates with regard to Rosenior and his future at the club.

But he was absolutely right to not let it slide. Any respect Rosenior does have from the players would have been lost and if it does cost him his job he can take solace in the service he’s doing for Chelsea, in ridding the club of a conceited bigot they will be perfectly fine without, thank you very much.

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