Former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburghas issued a grovelling apology for his comments on the Vinicius Jr racism storm, claiming his words were 'clumsy'.
The Real Madrid star scored in his side's Champions League clash with Benfica on Tuesday evening. Shortly after the celebrations, he accused Benfica star Gianluca Prestianni of a racist comment, which triggered the evening's referee Francois Letexier to commence UEFA's anti-racism protocols.
The game was stopped for around ten minues. During the delay, Clattenburg said: "As a referee, I have had this situation before when players have reported a racial comment on the field of play.
"All he (the referee) can do is make the report. Afterwards, then Uefa will look into this. As a referee it is very difficult in this situation."
Those comments were met with widespread condemnation however,with calls for the former Premier League official to be removed from his role with TNT Sports.
Clattenburg has now apologised for the way he handled the incident, the statement on his social media channels reads: "Nothing justifies racism in sport or in life. I'm grateful to have a chance to follow-up on last night, I got it wrong, I'm sorry.
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"It was live tv, my job is to respond in the moment and the words I used were clumsy and not right. I'm already learning from this and appreciate my colleagues who covered the situation with class throughout."
The incident at the Estadio da Luz has triggered a UEFA investigation, with Prestianni's comments set to be put under the microscope.
Meanwhile, a statement from FIFA president Gianni Infantinoread: "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!"
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Former Chelsea and Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho has also faced criticism for his comments in the aftermath of the game.
Asked if Vinicius had incited the incident with his celebration in front of the home fans, the Portuguese coach said: "Yeah, I believe so. The words they exchange, Prestianni with Vinicius, I want to be independent. I don't comment about it.
"When he was arguing about racism I told him the biggest person in the history of this club was black [Eusebio]. This club, the last thing it is is racist, so if in his mind it was something in relation to that, this is Benfica.
"There is something wrong because it happens in every stadium. Every stadium that Vinicius plays [in] something happens. Always."
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