FIFA defends automatic defeat in cases of racism – 01/22/2024 – Sport

The president of FIFA (International Football Federation), Gianni Infantino, called for bans in stadiums around the world for racist spectators and “automatic defeat” for teams whose fans engage in “abominable” conduct, following incidents of racism at games in England and Italy, on Saturday (20).

Infantino declared that there is no place for discrimination in football and society in general. “The events that took place in Udine and Sheffield on Saturday are completely abhorrent and completely unacceptable,” he said in a statement. “The players affected by Saturday’s events have my full support,” he added.

Fans at the Friuli stadium in Udine insulted Milan’s French goalkeeper Mike Maignan during the Rossoneri team’s 3-2 victory over Udinese. The incident caused the referee to stop the match for a few minutes.

In England, Jamaican midfielder Kasey Palmer, from Coventry, accused Sheffield Wednesday fans of doing the same to him during a second division game in the English Championship, which his team won 2-1.

The FIFA president suggested a three-step process: interrupt the match, interrupt it again after it has resumed and end it if the misconduct persists.

Additionally, “we must implement an automatic defeat for the team whose fans committed racism and caused the match to be terminated, as well as worldwide stadium bans and criminal charges for racists.”

“FIFA and football show total solidarity with the victims of racism and any form of discrimination. Once and for all: No to racism! No to any form of discrimination!”

Episodes of racism are frequent in Italian football. Maignan has even been the target of discrimination from fans of Juventus (2021) and Cagliari (2022).

“We make announcements, advertising campaigns, protocols and nothing changes”, lamented Maignan in a message published on the social network X (formerly Twitter) this Sunday (21), in which he asked all people involved to “take responsibility”.

“Today, an entire system must take responsibility: the perpetrators of these acts, because it is easy to act in groups, in the anonymity of a stand. The spectators who were in that stand, who heard everything, but remained silent, you are accomplices. The club Udinese, who only talked about interrupting the game, as if it were not important, is an accomplice. The entities and the Public Prosecutor’s Office, with everything that is happening, if you do nothing, you will ALSO BE ACCOMPLICES”, denounced the goalkeeper.

“They are stupid people… You can be booed by the opposing fans when you play away from home, it’s normal, but imitating monkey screams…” lamented the goalkeeper.

“It’s a difficult fight, which requires time and courage, but it’s a fight we will win,” added Maignan, who thanked the support received from Milan, his teammates and the Udinese players.

In the game against Udinese, Maignan had already warned the referee in the first half about what was happening in the stands and, minutes later, he decided to leave the field, accompanied by his teammates.

They all remained at the edge of the pitch for a few moments, with the Milan players supporting Maignan. After five minutes, the game was restarted.

“We need to show the referee and everyone that we have to act like this”, complained the Frenchman.

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Mbappé also criticized the lack of action by sports directors: “Always the same problems and always NO solution. Enough!”, wrote the attacker.

On the same social network, the French Football Federation (FFF) showed “full support” for Maignan and condemned the incidents in Udine.

“We need all relevant stakeholders to take action, starting with education in schools, so that future generations understand that this is not part of football and society,” said Infantino.

Other clubs in the country, such as Inter Milan, and the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) also showed support for Maignan on social media, but the harshest words came from the former Milan and Italy coach, Arrigo Sacchi.

“How is it possible that in 2024, in a stadium where you are going to watch a show, racist chants can still be heard? The problem, in my opinion, is cultural: I am no longer surprised because in this country ignorance triumphs and racism has always gone hand in hand. hand in hand with ignorance”, wrote Sacchi in his column in the newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport.