JAKARTA - Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior said anyone who is proven to be racist should not be in the football world.
On Wednesday, February 18, 2026 WIB, Real Madrid striker Vinicius Junior refused to return to the field after accusing him of being racially abused by Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni during the first leg of the Champions League playoff in Lisbon.
The Portuguese team then defended their player, claiming there was a smear campaign against him. Meanwhile, Manager Jose Mourinho accused Vinicius of provoking the incident with his goal celebration.
Prestianni, who denies racially abusing the Brazilian, could face a minimum 10-match ban from European tournaments if found guilty.
Rosenior, although not commenting directly on the case, believes that the authorities should take a firmer stance against racism.
"It's sad. There is a context that needs to be understood regarding this situation. What I want to say is that all forms of racism in society are unacceptable. I can't talk about incidents that are still under investigation."
"What I want to say is that when you see a player upset like Vinicius Junior, usually they are upset for a reason."
"I myself have experienced racial harassment. What people have to understand is that when you are judged for something you should be proud of, it is the worst feeling you can imagine. There is a history related to racism."
"As the manager of this club, I need to make my statement about it. If there is a coach, player, or manager who is proven guilty of racism, they should not be in the world of football. It's as simple as that for me," he said.
Rosenior once wrote an open letter to US President Donald Trump in June 2020, published in The Guardian, days after the murder of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis, an event that helped spark the global Black Lives Matter movement.
In it, he refers to the unjust, corrupt, and fundamentally prejudiced society in the United States that is part of a centuries-old legacy of racism.
Speaking ahead of Chelsea's match against Burnley at Stamford Bridge in the English League on Saturday, February 21, 2026, he again discussed the theme of the wider issue of discrimination in society.
During last week's FA Cup match against Hull, home supporters were heard chanting homophobic slurs aimed at the visiting team's supporters.
Meanwhile, Wednesday's incident was not the first time Vinicius was a victim of racist abuse. He has several times protested against the racism he has experienced in the stadium.
"I played in Spain, where I suffered a lot and still suffer," Vinicius said in November 2024.
In June 2024, three Valencia fans were jailed for eight months for racially abusing Vinicius during a LaLiga match in May 2023, in the first similar verdict in Spain.
"This is a very, very complex situation, when you talk about discrimination or race or gender. There are many things that need to be changed in our society."
"I'm not talking about football. There's a lot of division. There's a lot of people in the media who make prejudices against people based on their sexual orientation, their country of origin, their religion, their skin color."
"To be honest, it makes me sick. It's a wider debate than just football. People need to be held more accountable than they are on social media, in the mass media, to make sure these things are eradicated."
"Everyone should be judged equally based on the content of their character," said Rosenior.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
