Infantino condemns as “abhorrent” the racism experienced in matches in Italy and England

First modification: 01/21/2024 – 03:45Last modification: 01/21/2024 – 13:20

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Infantino maintained that there is no place for discrimination in football or society in general.

“The events that occurred on Saturday in Udine and Sheffield are totally abhorrent and completely unacceptable,” he said in a statement.

“The players affected by Saturday's events have my full support.”

Fans made monkey cries at AC Milan goalkeeper, French international Mike Maignan, during his team's dramatic 3-2 victory against Udinese. The match was temporarily suspended.

“We make statements, advertising campaigns, protocols and nothing changes,” Maignan lamented in a message published on X (formerly Twitter) this Sunday, calling on all parties involved to “assume responsibilities.”

“The authors of these acts, because it is easy to act in a group, in the anonymity of a tribune. The spectators who were in that tribune, who heard everything but remained silent, you are accomplices. The Udinese club, which only spoke of one interruption of the match, as if it were not important, they are accomplices. The authorities and the prosecutor, with everything that happens, if you do not act YOU WILL ALSO BE COMPLICES,” he denounced.

“It is a difficult fight, which requires time and courage, but it is a fight that we will win,” added Maignan, who thanked the support received from his club, his teammates and the Udinese players.

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And he also criticized the inaction of sports officials: “Always the same problems and always NO solution. Enough is enough!!!”, wrote the Paris SG forward.

On the same social network, the French Football Federation (FFF) showed its “total support” for the goalkeeper and condemned the incidents that occurred in Udine.

Likewise, Coventry midfielder Kasey Palmer accused Sheffield Wednesday fans of doing the same thing against him during a match on Saturday in the second division of English football that his team won 2-1.

Punishments for clubs and fans

“We need all relevant actors to take action, starting with education in schools so that future generations understand that this is not part of football or society,” claimed Infantino.

The world soccer boss urged adopting the three-step process: stop the game, stop it again, and abandon it if the behavior persists.

Additionally, “we must apply automatic punishments for teams whose fans engaged in racism that led to the suspension of the game, as well as criminal charges and bans in stadiums around the world for racists.”

“FIFA and football show their full solidarity with the victims of racism and any form of discrimination. Once and for all: no to racism! No to any form of discrimination!”

Italian football is regularly marred by episodes of racism, and even Maignan has already suffered them against tifosi of Juventus (2021) and Cagliari (2022).

“They are stupid people… You can receive whistles or boos from the rival crowd when you play away from home, it's normal, but imitating the screams of a monkey…” Maignan lamented after the game.

The 28-year-old goalkeeper warned the referee of what was happening in the 26th minute of the match and ten minutes later he decided to leave the field, accompanied by his teammates, before returning a few minutes later. “You have to show the referee and everyone that you have to act like this,” claimed the Frenchman.

Rival clubs such as Inter and the Italian Federation (FIGC) also showed their support for the Frenchman and their condemnation of racism through social networks, although the one who was harshest was the former Milan coach and former Italian national team coach, Arrigo Sacchi.

“How is it possible to hear racist chants in a stadium in 2024? The problem for me is culture: it does not surprise me because in this country ignorance triumphs and racism has always been linked to ignorance,” he wrote in a column in the Gazzetta dello Sport entitled “The Shame of Udine”.