FIFA’s President Gianni Infantino has called for worldwide stadium bans for fans and “automatic forfeits” for teams whose supporters hurl “abhorrent” abuse, following racist incidents at club matches in Italy and England.
The head of governing body the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) said on Sunday that there was no place for discrimination of any kind in the sport or wider society.
“The events that took place in Udine and Sheffield on Saturday are totally abhorrent and completely unacceptable,” he said in a statement.
“The players affected by Saturday’s events have my undivided support.”
Fans aimed monkey chants at AC Milan and France goalkeeper Mike Maignan during Milan’s dramatic 3-2 win at Udinese, with the game temporarily halted.
In a strongly worded statement on X, formerly Twitter, the France team said: “You have all our support Mike Maignan. The FFF [French Football Federation] totally condemns all racist acts.”
France captain Kylian Mbappe also offered his backing to his international teammate.
“You are very far from being alone Mike Maignan, we are all with you,” wrote the Paris Saint-Germain star.
“Still the same problems and still NO solution. Enough is enough!!!!! NO TO RACISM” he posted on X.
“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,” Infantino said.
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