Liam Rosenior has called for players and coaches found guilty of racism to be banned from football for life and said experiencing abuse on a football pitch “is the worst feeling you can ever possibly imagine”.

The Real Madrid forward Vinícius Júnior left the pitch after alleging that Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni racially abused him during their Champions League match on Tuesday. Prestianni has denied racist abuse and Benfica have said he was a “victim” of a “smear campaign”. The Argentinian faces a 10-game ban if found guilty by Uefa.

Benfica’s manager, José Mourinho, appeared to suggest Vinícius had been provocative with his “stupid” goal celebration. Rosenior refused to comment on Mourinho’s views, citing an ongoing investigation, but believes the Brazil forward “was upset for a reason”.

“Any form of racism in society, let alone football, is unacceptable,” Chelsea’s head coach said. “I cannot speak about an incident where an investigation is ongoing. I won’t speak about that incident. What I would say is when you see a player upset, how Vinícius Júnior was upset, normally they’re upset for a reason.

“I’ve been racially abused myself. I know people who have been racially abused. What people have to understand is...