Uefa has to investigate exactly what was said to Vinicius Jr during Real Madrid’s game with Benfica. And why Gianluca Prestianni felt the need to cover his mouth. It’s a disputed “he said, they misheard” situation and Uefa has to listen to both sides. But three things are very clear...

1. The anger of Vinicius and his Real team-mates. Trent Alexander-Arnold told Amazon Prime that what happened was “a disgrace to football”.

2. It’s irrelevant that Benfica found Vinicius’ goal celebration “disrespectful”. He’s allowed to dance by the corner-flag. Some of the most iconic goal celebrations have come that way. It was a great goal and an important one. The ref deemed the celebration over the top, and controversially booked him, but nothing justifies the alleged response that Vinicius claims was then directed at him.

3. Uefa’s record on clamping down on racism is not the strongest. A fine here, a short ban or a game behind closed doors there. If it is proved that Prestianni directed a racist comment at Vinicius - an allegation he denies - the punishment has to be a lengthy ban and a re-education course. Only by applying appropriate sanctions, meaningful sanctions for a societal curse manifesting itself in football, can Uefa show it is serious about its “No To Racism” message. #kickitout

Should Jim Ratcliffe apologise for his immigration rant? Take our poll and have your say

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/should-jim-ratcliffe-apologise-immigration-36710077

For football fans in the UK (or elsewhere in the World, including where they call it “soccer”):

Long time to #KickItOut ⚽️
There is no place for racism nor sexism in The Beautiful Game (nor anywhere else in life)

Sharing a link to the iOS app, and below that a link to the interview with #EmileHeskey by #TheAthletic

#FootballSafetyApp
https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/football-safety-app/id6754022854

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6961094/2026/01/23/emile-heskey-racist-abuse/?source=lxs

Premier League star Rodrigo Muniz praised by police as racist fan is banned for horror abuse

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league-star-rodrigo-muniz-36597905

The lack of black managers in football threatens future diversity in coaching roles

English football faces a significant diversity issue, with a warning from anti-discrimination charity Kick It Out that the sport could lose a generation of black, Asian, and mixed-heritage coaches. This concern follows the sacking of Nuno Espirito Santo from Nottingham Forest, leaving the Premier Le... [More info]

Arsenal banned 17 supporters for “abusive and discriminatory behaviour” during the 2024/25 season. (31 supporters banned in 22/23 and 24 in 23/24). Bans between 1 & 3 years to any Arsenal game, home or away. Arsenal currently assisting the Met “in nine other investigations, in which all supporters remain suspended pending the resolution of their cases”. Club verified “around 4,500 posts as abusive towards our players and staff – down slightly on last season”. These were reported to the respective social media platforms.

“Abusive and discriminatory behaviour has no place at our club,” says #AFC MD Richard Garlick. “Whilst we know that it often comes from a small minority, that will not stop us from acting against abusers who are identified as Arsenal season ticket holders or members and escalating these incidents to law enforcement where appropriate. We will continue to take swift and decisive action to tackle abuse of any kind as we continue to build a home where everyone feels safe and welcome.” 

This is very good from Arsenal. Couple of thoughts…firstly, it’s obviously vital that clubs are vigilant and take action and, secondly, that they release the numbers and nature of offences ⬇️ #kickitout

Antoine Semenyo showed his strength of character as well as his footballing qualities in playing so well after the incident, scoring twice. What a player he is, great role model too.

Anthony Taylor handled the incident well, following protocol with swiftness and empathy. The always impressive Andoni Iraola and his Bournemouth players supported Semenyo, their team-mate and friend, as you’d expect, standing shoulder to shoulder with him. Liverpool and Arne Slot reacted well with their statements.

But what is alleged to have occurred is unforgivable. Semenyo went out to play a game of football, to focus on trying to win and to entertain millions and during the game has to report to Taylor an allegation of racist abuse. It’s a societal problem that stains football. The authorities are dealing with this incident.

In tackling an enduring problem generally, it needs bans, education and re-education. Because at some point, if the scourge persists, teams will say enough is enough and walk off. It’s already happened elsewhere and certain captains have discussed it. No players, no game. #kickitout