After Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr alleged Benfica player Gianluca Prestianni racially abused him, Gianni Infantino has stepped in and offered his point of view
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| Gianni Infantino has offered his thoughts on the ugliness between Benfica and Real Madrid(Image: YouTube/11Alive) |
FIFA president Gianni Infantino has declared he is "shocked and saddened" by the incidents of alleged racism during the clash between Real Madrid and Benfica.
UEFA has opened an investigation after Vinicius Jr alleged Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni directed racist language at him. The Champions League encounter was halted for 10 minutes by referee Francois Letexier, with both teams departing the field shortly after Vinicius had put his team ahead.
Prestianni and Benfica have rejected the allegations. However, UEFA will now examine video evidence of the incident and interview both Prestianni and Vinicius Jr as part of their probe.
Infantino maintains those found responsible must be held accountable and face severe sanctions if proven guilty of racist behaviour. He said: "I was shocked and saddened to see the incident of alleged racism towards Vinícius Júnior in the UEFA Champions League match between 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 François Letexier for activating the anti-racism protocol by using the arm gesture to stop the game and address the situation.
"FIFA and football shows 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!"
Meanwhile, Vinicius Jr took to social media to condemn racists as "cowards" having been on the end of racist abuse throughout his career.
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| Vinicius Jr said he was racially abused by Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni during this altercation in Tuesday night's Champions League match(Image: Getty Images) |
He said: "Racists are, above all, cowards. They need to put their shirts in their mouths to show how weak they are.
"But they have the protection of others who, theoretically, have an obligation to punish them. Nothing that happened today is new in my life or in my team's life.
"I received a yellow card for celebrating a goal. I still don't understand why. On the other hand, it was just a poorly executed protocol that served no purpose."
- Jeremy Cross
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