Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior said he would take his players off the pitch if no action were to be taken in the event of racism during a game. Speaking in the aftermath of allegations made by Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior on Tuesday that he was racially abused by Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni during a Champions League game, Rosenior said he would not allow a match to continue if he “categorically heard” racist abuse. He spent much of the time that the game was paused seated alone in the Real dugout. Whether teams should refuse to continue in incidences of racist abuse is a question which has been raised repeatedly in recent years. “If I categorically heard racism and nothing was done about it, I would take my team off the pitch.

Source: Irish Examiner February 21, 2026 09:00 UTC