Liam Rosenior: Anyone found guilty of racism ‘shouldn’t be in the game’ after Vinicius Jr incident

Vinicius Jr was allegedly racially abused by Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni in Tuesday’s Champions League knockout play-off first leg

Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior has provided an emphatic response to the alleged racist abuse suffered by Vinicius Jr, drawing on his own experiences of being victimised over the colour of his skin.

Real Madrid winger Vinicius had an altercation with Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni after scoring the only goal of Tuesday’s Champions League knockout play-off first leg in Lisbon, rushing over to the referee to tell him he had been the subject of racist abuse.

The fallout of the incident has reignited the problem of racism in football, stoked by Benfica manager Jose Mourinho’s bewildering rant in which he appeared to suggest Vinicius had provoked the abuse.

And Rosenior, while opting to tread carefully amid Uefa’s ongoing investigation into the incident, asserted that anyone found guilty of racism should not be involved in football.

"It's upsetting,” Rosenior said. “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 chose not to address or condemn Mourinho’s comments directly but did add that race should never be a factor “regardless of how a player celebrates”.

Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior argues with Benfica’s head coach Jose Mourinho (Pedro Rocha/AP) (AP)

The former Hull, Fulham and Brighton defender, who had a 16-year playing career in England, reflected on his own experiences of having his race targeted.

"I have been racially abused myself,” he added. “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."

Rosenior says anyone found guilty of racism ‘shouldn’t be in the game’ (John Walton/PA Wire)

Rosenior was speaking ahead of this weekend’s clash with Burnley in the Premier League and provided an injury update on Marc Cucurella, who was withdrawn at half-time of last week’s draw with Leeds after picking up a hamstring problem.

"I can't give an exact timeframe on Marc,” he said. “He suffered a hamstring injury. He suffered it before half-time in the Leeds game, so for me that's a real shame because he's an outstanding player. He's one of the best left-backs in the world.

"But we have Jorrel [Hato], we have Malo [Gusto] who can play on that side. We've got really good players that could cover. The sooner he gets back, the better."

However, the Englishman was able to confirm that both Reece James and Cole Palmer are “fully fit” and in contention to feature against the Clarets.