Saturday January 20 was a dark day for football. In Udinese, where AC Milan were traveling, Mike Maignan was targeted by racist cries from local supporters. The French goalkeeper then stopped playing, and the match was interrupted for several minutes.
A situation far from being new, as this type of scene happens regularly, particularly in the Serie but also in other European countries. An evil that football seems to have a hard time getting rid of. On Sunday, Gianni Infantino, FIFA President, reacted, firstly providing his support to Maignan and his teammates: “The players affected by Saturday’s events have my full support.” And he insisted: “Racism has no place in football, just like any form of discrimination, in football but also in society.”
He didn’t stop there, wanting to see change: “It is necessary for ALL stakeholders to act, starting with education in schools, so that future generations understand that this does not have to its place in football and society.
Gianni Infantino then proposed concrete actions: “we must implement an automatic forfeit for the teams whose supporters were the perpetrators of racism and caused the abandonment of the match, but also ensure that the world’s stadiums ban and prosecute the offenders “.
Before concluding: “FIFA shows its full solidarity to the victims of racism and discrimination. […] No to racism !”
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