The red card was the sixth Chelsea have received in the Premier League this season, and the Blues lost ground in the race for the top four after Zian Flemming’s late equalizer.

The draw at Stamford Bridge means the west London side have failed to win their last two league games, after home draws against Leeds and Burnley, both newly promoted.

Fofana’s dismissal rules him out of Sunday’s game against Premier League leader Arsenal. The 25-year-old, sadly, received racist messages on his Instagram after the draw, and the defender posted a screenshot of some of the vile messages sent to him.

Chelsea released a statement that read: “Chelsea Football Club is appalled and disgusted by the vile racist abuse directed at Wesley Fofana online. The racist abuse Wes has been subjected to following today’s Premier League match against Burnley is abhorrent and will not be tolerated. This behavior is completely unacceptable and goes against the values of football and everything we stand for as a club.”

Rosenior revealed that Dr. Michael Bennett, hired by the club last summer to serve as director of welfare and performance, met with the players on Friday. “The players are incredibly supported both on and off the field,” Rosenior said when asked what support Chelsea had provided Fofana after the abuse.

“They had a meeting today with Dr. Michael Bennett about his involvement at the club and how he can help them off the field.

“Obviously, it’s been a difficult day for Wes, first with what happened in the game and then with the aftermath: the racist abuse he received online. Wes is a tough guy, a good guy.

“It’s unbelievable: last week you spoke about racism in the news conference, and it hits you in such a way that, quite simply, it shouldn’t exist, whether online or verbally in person. It’s something we have to do everything we can to eradicate from life and even more so from football. But Wes is absolutely fine; he’s trained well this week.”

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