Mike Maignan: Udinese chairman promises to banish fans ‘for life’ who have racially abused AC Milan keeper
In a heated turn of events, Serie A club Udinese has confirmed that they have started identifying individuals who have used racist slur against AC Milan keeper Mike Maignan during their weekend showdown, which caused the French keeper to forfeit the game and leave the ground.
No room for racism, anywhere
In one of the unfortunate events during weekend at Italian football, AC Milan keeper Mike Maignan was abused racially by some Udinese fans during the first half of the game, which had prompted the French star to depart the pitch, along with his teammates. The game was stopped for few minutes, before it resumed shortly, and Rossoneri held on to win the game, courtesy some late blasts from Okafor and Jovic. But, the result of the game was marred by the controversial racism slur faced by Maignan, which is increasingly becoming evident in European football, with several heavyweight stars experiencing the horrific abuse.
After this incident, Maignan has received widespread support, with footballers from all over the world garnering praise for his actions, as he penned a letter, discussing the incident, urging authorities to ” take responsibility”, to abolish the heinous crime of racism.
“A very serious thing”
Udinese club CEO Franco Collavino has mentioned about his intentions to banish the culprits for life, as he was heard saying to La Gazzetta dello Sport, “We’re working to go in search of those responsible, there can only be two or three people. There were no chants, nothing perceived by either the referee or the prosecutor’s office. There were one, two, three wretches, and this is enough for it to be a very serious thing. We have already started looking at the images from the stadium cameras, we also have to listen to the audio. At the Blue energy Stadium, between inside and outside, there are over 300 cameras, there is a lot of work to do in a very short time.”
He further mentioned, “A Daspo has a limited duration, but the club can decide to ban a fan from a stadium for a longer period of time. We will work to ban them from the stadium forever, for life.”
Udinese has released an official statement in response to this abuse, and has condemned this act, with the Mayor of Udine offering Maignan an offer for honorary citizenship.
