AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan has endured enough racist boos from enthusiastic fans. During a Jan. 20 attack on the Udinese Calcio soccer club at the Dacia Arena in Udine, Italy, taunts prompted Maignan to leave the area and his teammates followed. According to Forbes, the fans persisted in hurling racist rhetoric at the black French goalkeeper, prompting Maignan to tell the referees as he was leaving the box.
“What happened in the first half is that in the first goal kick I heard monkey noises, I didn’t say anything,” Maignan explained. “The moment I went to get the ball, I heard it again. I told the fourth official and my bench what had happened.
Generally, in this sport, players who quit will have to let fans know that their habit wants to be corrected. However, the AC Milan athlete added that this act was not enough to replace the racist motivations of some fans, and that he deserves not to be punished for refraining from playing due to this persistent racism.
“I was upset to have to go into the changing room like that, but I had everyone’s support,” shared the athlete. “I said we cannot play football like this. It is not the first time it has happened this way. They must hand out very strong sanctions because talking no longer does anything.”
The question of how groups like AC Milan, officials and FIFA itself deal with racial injustice in matches is gaining traction after decades of ongoing abuse, in this case by enthusiasts towards players of color, especially black ones. It remains the same, the racist comments constantly hurled at the players also remain the same. Although Italian football clubs have issued statements and campaigns denouncing racism, FIFA itself has said it will take additional steps to ensure that the challenge has concrete means to end it. .
“In addition to the three-step procedure (Abandoned Fit, Abandoned Fit, Abandoned Fit), we want to apply an automatic suspension for the team whose fans have committed acts of racism and caused the abandonment of the fit, as well as for stadiums around the world. Bans and prosecutions of criminals for racists,” said FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
However, it remains to be seen whether this stance will bring new needs for the games to better deal with the issues of racial booing.
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