January 21, (THEWILL) – FIFA President, Gianni Infantino, has called for harsh punishments following racist incidents during football matches in Italy and England over the weekend. Infantino demanded worldwide stadium bans and automatic match forfeits for teams whose supporters engage in racist abuse.
The FIFA chief strongly condemned the “totally abhorrent and completely unacceptable” abuse aimed at AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan during a Serie A match against Udinese on Saturday. A Championship match between Coventry City and Sheffield Wednesday was also halted due to racism from home fans.
Infantino pledged his “undivided support” to the affected players and said there is no place for discrimination in football or the society at large. He called for “all relevant stakeholders” to take action, starting with education in schools, to stamp out racism among future generations.
As well as existing three-step protocols when abuse occurs, Infantino urged the implementation of automatic forfeits and worldwide stadium bans for offenders. He said teams should forfeit any match abandoned due to their fans’ racism, accompanied by bans from all stadiums and criminal charges.
The Milan-Udinese match was temporarily suspended as referee Fabio Maresca halted play due to monkey chants aimed at French goalkeeper Maignan. A visibly furious Maignan stormed down the tunnel with his teammates before play eventually resumed after a five-minute delay.
In Sheffield, Coventry midfielder Kasey Palmer reported racist abuse from home fans, which caused a brief stoppage. Sheffield Wednesday released a statement condemning the “abhorrent and wholly unacceptable” abuse and vowed to identify and punish any guilty individuals.
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Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
