'They shouldn't be in the game' - Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior sends strong anti-racism message after Vinicius Jr abuse

Rosenior has spoken out as the controversy continues following the allegations of racial abuse made against Prestianni on Tuesday. The likes of Jose Mourinho and Mark Clattenburg have come under fire for their responses to the incident, while Benfica released social media posts in defence of their player to escalate the situation even further.

An investigation into what was said by Prestianni is ongoing, and he could face a minimum 10-game ban if found guilty of racial abuse, as per The Mirror. The Argentine denied the allegations in a statement on social media.

Speaking in his press conference on Thursday, Rosenior gave his opinion on the situation in an empathetic response to Vinicius Jr. He was clear that there is no place for racial discrimination in football, stating that anyone found guilty of racism “shouldn’t be in the game”.

Rosenior told reporters, as relayed by The Independent: "It's upsetting. Always, there needs to be context to it. What I will say, you can see any form of racism in society, not just football, is unacceptable.

“I cannot speak about an incident where an investigation is ongoing. I won't speak about that incident. What I would say is when you see a player upset how Vinicius Jr was upset, normally they're upset for a reason.”

Rosenior added, likely in reference to Mourinho’s comments after the game, that race should never be a factor “regardless of how a player celebrates”.

"I have been racially abused myself,” Rosenior continued. “I know people that have and what people need to understand is, when you are judged for something you should be proud of, it is the worst thing.

“If any player, any coach or any manager is found guilty of racism, they shouldn't be in the game. It's as simple as that.

“This is a very complex situation when you speak about race or gender. There are a lot of things that need to change in society. It sickens me to be honest. I think there's a wider debate than football. I think there needs to be more accountability for these things that need to be stamped out."

This comes after former Chelsea boss Mourinho said post-match following the incident, leading to gaslighting accusations: "It should be the crazy moment of the game, an amazing goal. Unfortunately [he was] not just happy to score that astonishing goal. When you score a goal like that, you celebrate in a respectful way."

He added: "I told [Vinicius], when you score a goal like that you just celebrate and walk back. When he was arguing about racism, I told him the biggest person in the history of this club [Eusebio] was black.

"This club, the last thing that it is, is racist. If in his mind there was something in relation to that, this is Benfica.

"They [Vinicius and Prestianni] told me different things. But I don't believe in one or another. I want to be an independent."

The investigation into the incident at Estádio Da Luz is likely to take several weeks, meaning Prestianni might be available to play when Benfica travel to Real in the second leg of their Champions League knock-out tie next Wednesday. The fall-out to the comments made by Mourinho and Benfica will no doubt continue in the coming days.

Chelsea host 19th-placed Burnley in the Premier League on Saturday and will hope to return to winning ways as they seek a top-four place under Rosenior this term, with a trip to Arsenal at the Emirates next up after that on March 1.