Gianni Infantino 'shocked and saddened' by allegations of racial abuse aimed at Vinicius Junior as FIFA President sends 'full solidarity'

Vinicius scored the only goal of the game in Brazil, helping Real Madrid eventually earn a 1-0 win in the first leg of their knockout round play-off with Benfica. However, the fixture was marred by alleged racist abuse from Gianluca Prestianni, with Vinicius alerting the referee to the Argentine's comments, prompting the official to trigger the anti-racism protocol.

The game resumed after a ten-minute pause, but Benfica and manager Jose Mourinho have since been criticised for their responses to the incident.

Benfica have claimed Prestianni has been the victim of "defamation", while Mourinho seemed to suggest Vinicius had incited the abuse with his goal celebration and insisted his club couldn't be racist in nature due to Eusebio being a legend there.

FIFA president Infantino has now added his thoughts to the incident, saying on Wednesday: "I was shocked and saddened to see the incident of alleged racism towards Vinicius Junior in the UEFA Champions League match between SL Benfica and Real Madrid CF.

"There is absolutely no room for racism in our sport and in society - we need all the relevant stakeholders to take action and hold those responsible to account.

"At FIFA, through the Global Stand Against Racism and the Players’ Voice Panel, we are committed to ensuring that players, officials and fans are respected and protected, and that appropriate action is taken when incidents occur.

"I commend referee Francois Letexier for activating the anti-racism protocol by using the arm gesture to stop the game and address the situation.

"FIFA and football show full solidarity to victims of racism and any form of discrimination. I will always continue to reiterate: No to racism! No to any form of discrimination!"

Former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg also came in for criticism for his choice of words when he was consulted on live TV. 

Speaking during the delay, Clattenburg told watchers on Amazon Prime: "Once Vinicius Junior has approached the referee, the referee now has to follow the protocol, he has to follow the rules that UEFA have set out when this happens.

"The problem in this situation is that Vinicius Junior has not helped himself. He has made this difficult for the referee.

"He scored a wonderful goal and all he has to do is, yes celebrate, but return back. He has made this situation very, very difficult.”

His remarks attracted immediate criticism and he has now apologised, stating on his social media channels: "Nothing justifies racism in sport or in life. I'm grateful to have a chance to follow-up on last night, I got it wrong, I'm sorry.

"It was live TV, my job is to respond in the moment and the words I used were clumsy and not right. I'm already learning from this and appreciate my colleagues who covered the situation with class throughout."

A UEFA investigation is now underway, with Prestianni at risk of being handed a large suspension if he is found guilty of racially abusing Vinicius. The midfielder himself has denied he used discriminatory language towards the Brazilian, insisting: "At no point did I direct racist insults at Vinicius Jr., who unfortunately misunderstood what he thought he heard. I have never been racist toward anyone."

It remains to be seen if Prestianni will play at the Bernabeu next week for the return leg, with Benfica in need of a victory to reach the next round. Kylian Mbappe, however, has called on him to be banned from the Champions League for life.

He said: “Prestianni clearly called Vini Jr a monkey, it happened five times. I saw that. UEFA have the best cameras, now we wait. This is not acceptable. It’s not my kind of human being. Benfica are a top club, nothing against them, but Prestianni should never play in the Champions League anymore."