MARK CLATTENBURG has apologised for his “clumsy” analysis of an alleged racial incident involving Vinicius Jr.
The former Premier League referee, 50, was on the punditry team for Amazon Prime Video‘s coverage of the Champions League clash between Benfica and Real Madrid on Tuesday night.
After putting Real ahead in the 50th minute and celebrating in front of the Benfica fans, Vinicius reported a racist incident to referee Francois Letexier.
The complaint was lodged after Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni, 20, appeared to say something to the Brazilian while lifting up his shirt to cover his mouth.
Vinicius and his team-mates left the pitch for 10 minutes while the play-off first leg, which finished 1-0, was temporarily halted.
Clattenburg received fierce backlash for saying that Vinicius should have “got on with the game”, and that he had made things “very difficult” for Letexier.
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He said: “He scored a wonderful goal but he should have just returned over to the other side of the pitch and he could have got on with the game.
“Vinicius Jr has not helped himself. He’s made this difficult for the referee.”
Clattenburg was pelted on social media, and Troy Townsend MBE, who works for anti-discrimination charity Kick It Out, said he should “never be involved in commentary again”.
He also told The Telegraph: “His insinuation that Vini Jr has given the referee a problem is nothing short of outlandish and part of the victim-blaming culture that always exists at this time.”
Clattenburg responded to the fallout by posting a statement on X on Wednesday afternoon.
He wrote: “I got it wrong, I’m sorry.
“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.”
Prestianni denies racially abusing Vinicius and insists he “misunderstood what he thought he heard”.
Uefa have launched an official investigation into the incident.
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