Chelsea star Enzo Fernandez banned from driving and hit with fine after two offences

Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez has been disqualified from driving after being found guilty of two offences. The Argentina international was also fined a total of £3,020 after being sentenced at Llanelli Magistrates court in Carmarthenshire on Wednesday.

Fernandez was found guilty of failing to identify the driver of a Porsche Cayenne on 27 December last year. He was also found guilty of a further offence of failing to identify the driver of a vehicle on 24 January.

A driver of the car was allegedly caught speeding on Carmarthen Road, Swansea. In a separate incident, a driver ran a red light on Church Street, Llanelli.

It was not proven that Fernandez was the driver of the car on either occasion. The 23-year-old was not in court for his sentencing and his case was heard in his absence.

The court handed Fernandez a £1,000 fine per offence and he was ordered to pay £110 in costs to Dyfed-Powys Police and South Wales Police, respectively. Fernandez must also pay a surcharge of £800, which brings the total cost to £3,020.

The former Benfica player was handed a total of 12 penalty points for both offences. They are in addition to the nine penalty points already on his licence.

Mr Wyn Edwards, sentencing, said Fernandez would therefore be disqualified from driving for a period of six months, starting on Wednesday.

Fernandez is currently with the Argentina national team and played in their surprise 2-1 defeat by Colombia in a World Cup qualifier on Tuesday. He played the full 90 minutes of Argentina’s 3-0 victory over Chile last Friday.

Chelsea signed Fernandez from Benfica for £108million in January 2023. He was a key player under Mauricio Pochettino last season and has started this term wearing the captain’s armband in the absence of club skipper Reece James.

New boss Enzo Maresca has started Fernandez in all three Premier League matches so far this season, despite him returning late having been part of the Argentina squad for their triumphant Copa America campaign. Fernandez is also a World Cup winner with his country.

During the summer, Fernandez apologised after he was seen chanting racially offensive song with his Argentina team-mates in a live reel on Instagram. He was strongly criticised at the time, including by his Chelsea colleague Wesley Fofana, who said that the chant was “uninhibited racism”. Fofana is reported to have accepted Fernandez’s apology.