The FIFA President, Gianni Infantino, has released a statement that calls for teams to forfeit games should their fans commit racist abuse.
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Infantino releases statementMaignan had been racially abused by Udinese fansCoventry's Casey Palmer also targeted against WednesdayWHAT HAPPENED?
Infantino's statement comes in response to racist chanting directed at AC Milan's goalkeeper, Mike Maignan, in their fixture away at Udinese. The game had to be briefly suspended after Maignan and the Milan players walked off the pitch. Maignan has received huge support from some of football's biggest names, including Kylian Mbappe, who called for more to be done to tackle racism in football.
AdvertisementGettyWHAT INFANTINO SAID
In a statement released on X (formerly Twitter), Infantino said: “The events that took place in Udine and Sheffield on Saturday are totally abhorrent and completely unacceptable. There is no place for racism or any form of discrimination – both in football and in society. The players affected by Saturday’s events have my undivided support.
“We need ALL the relevant stakeholders to take action, starting with education in schools so that future generations understand that this is not part of football or society.
“As well as the three-step process (match stopped, match re-stopped, match abandoned), we have to implement an automatic forfeit for the team whose fans have committed racism and caused the match to be abandoned as well as worldwide stadium bans and criminal charges for racists.
“FIFA and football shows full solidarity to victims of racism and any form of discrimination. Once and for all: No to racism! No to any form of discrimination!”
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Infantino also references events in Sheffield Wednesday's fixture against Coventry City at Hillsborough. Whilst going to take a corner, Coventry's Casey Palmer was subject to a racist gesture by one of the home fans. Wednesday condemned the racist attack as "abhorrent and wholly unacceptable" and are working with the police to identify the fan.
GettyWHAT NEXT FOR INFANTINO?
The FIFA President's statement will reassure players and fans that steps will be taken towards tackling racism and imposing stronger sanctions for those committing racist abuse. However, Infantino will have to put words into action if the abuse is to be truly stamped out of the game.