Chelsea defender Wesley Fofana didn’t hold back after he and Burnley’s Hannibal Mejbri were hit with racist abuse following Saturday’s 1-1 draw. “Nothing changes,” he wrote. “People are never punished.” Both players shared screenshots of the nasty messages sent to them on Instagram, just hours after the match at Stamford Bridge.

This all happened only days after UEFA started looking into Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior’s claims that Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni racially abused him during a Champions League game in Lisbon. That match had to be stopped for ten minutes after Vinicius, clearly shaken, refused to play on. Prestianni tried to cover his mouth with his shirt during the incident, but the damage was already done.

Back to Saturday night, Fofana, who’d been sent off late in the game for two yellow cards, posted some of the abuse he received and didn’t mince words: “2026, it’s still the same thing. These people are never punished. You create big campaigns against racism, but nobody actually does anything.” Mejbri also shared the messages he got, adding, “It’s 2026, and there are still people like that. Educate yourself and your kids, please.”

Chelsea responded quickly, calling the abuse “completely unacceptable” and saying it goes against everything the club stands for. “There is no room for racism,” they said. “We stand unequivocally with Wes. He has our full support, as do all our players who are too often forced to endure this hatred simply for doing their job. We will work with the authorities and platforms to find the people responsible and take the strongest action.”

Burnley echoed the sentiment: “There is no place for this in our society, and we condemn it unreservedly.”

Football’s handling of racism has been under the microscope lately, especially after what happened in Lisbon. Benfica manager Jose Mourinho stirred things up further by accusing Vinicius of provoking the incident, while the Portuguese club claimed their player was the victim of a defamation campaign.

As for the game itself, Chelsea looked set for a win until Burnley’s Zian Flemming headed in a stoppage-time equaliser, right after Fofana’s red card left Chelsea down a man. Fofana was sent off in the 72nd minute for a late challenge on James Ward-Prowse. Earlier, Joao Pedro’s fourth-minute goal seemed to put Liam Rosenior’s side on track for victory, but like so many times this season, they couldn’t finish off Scott Parker’s struggling team. The match ended all square, but the bigger story was what happened off the pitch.

Jamie O'Hara really let loose on Robert Sanchez after Chelsea’s frustrating 1-1 draw with Burnley on Saturday.

Chelsea got off to a flying start; Joao Pedro scored just four minutes in, and honestly, it felt like they’d cruise to an easy win at Stamford Bridge. But even with most of the ball, they just couldn’t turn that early goal into a comfortable lead. They dominated, but nothing clicked in the final third.

Things got worse in the 72nd minute when Wesley Fofana picked up a red card. Now he’s out for next week’s big clash with Arsenal. And with Estevao missing, Chelsea just seemed flat. They couldn’t close the game out, and sure enough, Burnley made them pay. Zian Flemming hit a late equaliser, huge for a team desperate to avoid relegation.

O’Hara didn’t hold back on Sanchez during his chat with Jason Cundy on GameDay Phone-In, calling the keeper’s performance "non-league". He was fuming about Sanchez’s decision-making late in the game.

Sanchez, instead of taking the sting out of the match, just lumped the ball forward to Joao Pedro, who was cramping up while Chelsea were barely holding on.

“How old is Sanchez?” O’Hara started. “He’s not some kid. He’s got plenty of experience.” Cundy tried to chime in, but O’Hara kept going: “It’s the 85th minute. The ball comes to him. Just go down, hang onto it.”

Cundy jumped in: “Catch it, go down, kill the clock. Instead, he boots it to Joao Pedro, who can barely run. What’s he supposed to do? He's outnumbered three to one!”

O’Hara added, “He’s done it twice. I’m sitting there thinking, ‘What is he doing?’ That’s not about being young. That’s just stupid!”

He continued, “You take the ball, go down, get the team up the pitch, then smash it into the corner. You waste two minutes, easy. But Chelsea? They just keep shooting themselves in the foot. It’s like watching non-league football sometimes.”

That draw pushed Chelsea above Manchester United into fourth, but United still have a game in hand. If they beat Everton on Monday, they’ll leapfrog Chelsea by three points. So, yeah, Chelsea’s slip-up could really haunt them.