The Serie A game between Udinese Calcio and AC Milan was temporarily interrupted after racist insults.
French football goalkeeper Mike Maignan of AC Milan has received widespread support for his reaction to insults from Udinese Calcio fans. “You are far from alone, Mike Maignan. We are all with you. Still the same problems and still no solution”wrote former world champion Kylian Mbappé on “X”, formerly “Twitter:” “Enough is enough! No to racism.” National team colleague Antoine Griezmann wrote: “We stand together, Mike! No to racism!”
Game temporarily interrupted
The Italian Serie A game was temporarily interrupted on Saturday evening after racist insults and boos against Maignan. The 28-year-old keeper first spoke to referee Fabio Maresca after about half an hour.
He was then hugged and kissed by teammates. Maignan went from the pitch to the dressing room and returned a short time later.
“They imitated monkey sounds. There shouldn’t be anything like that in the football world and you just have to react,” Maignan said after his team’s 3-2 win.
He didn’t hear it the first time, but then he had to act. The black professional footballer added that it was not the first time in his career that he had felt racism. “I didn’t want to continue the game”, he said. But then he and the team decided that things should continue: “I felt everyone’s support.”
Infantino: “Totally disgusting and completely unacceptable”
As the Ansa news agency reported, there was an announcement from the stadium spokesman after the incident. The Udinese players went into the corner to influence their supporters. The game resumed after around six minutes. “There is absolutely no place for racism in our game: we are appalled,” wrote Milan at “X”: “We’re on your side, Mike.”
FIFA President Gianni Infantino also commented, citing the incident in Udine and another in Sheffield “Totally abhorrent and completely unacceptable. There is no place for racism or any other form of discrimination”. There was also a racism scandal in England on Saturday when professional Kasey Palmer from Coventry City during the second division game against Sheffield Wednesday had been insulted with a gesture.
Udinese Calcio announced on Sunday that they wanted to clarify the incident. “Udinese will cooperate with all investigative authorities to ensure an immediate investigation into the incident,” said a statement from the club. All necessary measures should therefore be taken to identify and punish those responsible.
Juventus with a confident win against Lecce
The Italian football record champions Juventus Turin have returned to the top of the Serie A table. Head coach Massimiliano Allegri’s team celebrated a 3-0 (0-0) win against US Lecce and pushed Inter Milan, who had played one game less, out of first place.
Juventus players celebrate a goal during the Serie A away game in Lecce.
After a goalless first half, top Serbian striker Dusan Vlahovic scored twice (59’/68′) – including after an assist from former Schalke player Weston McKennie. Defender Bremer then made everything clear (85th). In the next league game, Juventus will host penultimate FC Empoli on January 27th.