AC Milan’s Mike Maignan leaves Serie A match due to racist chants

AC Milan’s goalkeeper Mike Maignan takes a stand against racist chants during a Serie A match at Udinese by briefly leaving the pitch

AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan, after briefly leaving the pitch in protest against racist chants during a Serie A match at Udinese, is now advocating for robust sanctions to fight racism in football.

Maignan alerted the referee to the repeated racist chants from local fans before temporarily exiting the pitch on Saturday.

Although his teammates initially joined him in the tunnel, they all returned after a few minutes.

After the match, in which Milan secured a 3-2 victory with a stoppage-time goal by striker Noah Okafor, Maignan emphasized that addressing racism verbally is insufficient and stressed the need for decisive actions, saying: “They must hand out very strong sanctions because talking no longer does anything.”

Maignan highlighted that while most fans aim to support their teams, such incidents undermine the essence of the sport.

Maignan, hailing from French Guiana, disclosed that he endured “monkey noises” from supporters throughout the match.

Expressing his frustration, he revealed that the first instance occurred during the initial goal kick, prompting him to report it to the fourth official and his bench.

Maignan, angered by the recurrence of such incidents, admitted he considered not playing but chose to stand by his teammates.

Meanwhile, other reports suggested that Coventry midfielder Kasey Palmer accused Sheffield Wednesday fans of engaging in racist chants during their English Championship clash on Saturday.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino expressed solidarity with Maignan, emphasizing the urgent need for measures to address racism.

“There is no place for racism or any form of discrimination, either in football or in society. The players affected by Saturday’s events have my full support,” Infantino underscored.

“In addition to the three-step process (match stopped, match stopped again and match abandoned), we need to enforce automatic defeat for the team whose fans committed racism and caused the match to be abandoned, as well as worldwide stadium bans and criminal charges for racists,” he added.

Source: Newsroom