Chelsea player Kenedy sent home from tour after insults about China

English Premier League football team Chelsea have sent Brazilian player Kenedy home from their pre-season tour of Asia, after he made offensive comments about China.

The club was forced to "solemnly and sincerely" apologize over the weekend after the winger, 21,  posted offensive social media comments before a friendly match against London rivals Arsenal in Beijing.

Kenedy played in that game, but was roundly booed by the crowd in the Bird’s Nest stadium.

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The outrage and accusations of xenophobia came after the player uploaded a series of social posts about China, including a picture of himself along with a caption reading "Porra China," which roughly translates from Portuguese as "F*** China."

He also posted a picture of a sleeping security guard with the caption, “Wake up China, you idiot” in Portuguese.

In a statement at the weekend, the club said: "We sincerely apologise for the hurt caused to our Chinese fans as well as Chinese people.  

"Kenedy's actions were a mistake that he will learn greatly from," it added.

"His behaviour does not represent the entire team and does not align with our expectations and strict requirements of the young players."

The Brazilian himself also later apologized, saying he was sorry if "someone was sad because I used an expression."

"No racism, just an expression," he added.

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The club has now taken the step to send the player home and fine him. 

Chelsea played German club Bayern Munich in Singapore in the latest leg of their tour on Tuesday, where they lost 3-2.