AC Milan’s match at Udinese was suspended on Saturday, January 20, after France goalkeeper Mike Maignan was racially abused by home fans. Play was stopped in the 38th minute by referee Fabio Maresca after persistent monkey chanting at Maignan, which initially led to Milan’s players leaving the field in outrage.
Fans had been warned to stop the abuse after Maignan had initially complained to Maresca about the chants, but they carried on and forced the officials to halt the match. Play resumed after about five minutes, with Milan leading thanks to Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s goal in the 31st minute in Udine before Lazar Samardzic leveled the scores three minutes before half-time.
Home supporters continued booing Maignan every time he received the ball, annoyed at his complaints which led to the game being temporarily stopped. “There is absolutely no place in our game for racism: we are appalled. We are with you, Mike,” Milan wrote on social media.
This is not the first time that Maignan has been racially abused by supporters in Italy as he was targeted by a Juventus fan in September 2021. Maignan described himself as “black and proud” after that incident, asking whether Italy’s football authorities knew what it was like “to hear insults and chants reducing us to animals”.
Italy, a country governed by a coalition led by the far-right Brothers of Italy party, is rife with fascist football fan groups, in particular among the hardcore “ultras” who make most of the atmosphere at stadiums.
Last week Lazio were hit with a one-match stand closure after supporters directed monkey chants at Romelu Lukaku during their team’s midweek Italian Cup win over local rivals Roma. In November a suspended stand closure was handed to Fiorentina after their fans targeted Dusan Vlahovic, Moise Kean and Weston McKennie during a home defeat to Juventus.
Racism is so persistent that in August it caused the United Nations’ Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination to raise a “red flag” over abuse at sporting events. The CERD asked Italy to take action against “racist acts during sports events, including physical and verbal attacks against athletes of African descent”.
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