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.
The game in Lisbon was halted for 10 minutes after Vinicius became suddenly and visibly upset about something said to him and immediately informed the referee. 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.
“It’s one of many responses you can make,” said Rosenior. “Everything is contextual. It’s so difficult to make judgements.
“If I categorically heard racism and nothing was done about it, I would take my team off the pitch. I wouldn’t play the game.” Rosenior, who is of mixed heritage, wrote an open letter to US president Donald Trump in June 2020, published in the Guardian, in the days after the murder by a police officer of George Floyd in Minneapolis, an event that helped fan the global Black Lives Matter movement.
In it, he referred to “an unjust, corrupt and fundamentally prejudiced society” in America that was a part of a centuries-old legacy of racism.
Speaking ahead of Chelsea’s Premier League game at home to Burnley on Saturday, he said: “I’m really lucky. I’m mixed heritage. My dad is black, my mum is white.
“What I learned in my life is everyone is pretty much the same. We have to find a way to realise that and not create more division based on many things, not just race.” Rosenior and his players have enjoyed their first midweek without a game since his appointment early in January.
The squad were given time off, with several of the team going on short holidays abroad before returning to prepare for the visit of the relegation-threatened Clarets.
Rosenior, who has been living in a hotel since beginning work at Stamford Bridge, said he was only able to afford himself a single day off.
“The job never ends,” he said. “I managed to switch off for a day. For my staff as well it’s important for them to see their families.” The former Hull and Strasbourg boss lamented that, as a player, he was never able to afford the kind of luxurious jaunts to Dubai and Egypt his players have enjoyed.
“No, I wasn’t good enough,” he said. “I didn’t get paid enough.” Asked whether he was any closer to finding himself a house, he said: “No, I’m still in the hotel. I’ll probably be there until the end of the season. I don’t have time. I’m focused on this job.
“I’m focused on what it can affect. My living circumstances aren’t a priority right now.”
