During his 70th birthday celebration on ESPN Mexico's program "Los Capitanes ", he revealed he was not present at any of his children's births due to his job. Fernández was covering the 1973 CONCACAF Championship in Haiti when José Ramón Jr. was born, he was in Argentina narrating the 1978 FIFA World Cup match between West Germany and Mexico when Juan Pablo was born, covering the 1979 Summer Universiade when María Asunción was born and covering the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany when his youngest child, Lorea was born.