AC Milan’s French international goalkeeper Mike Maignan suffered racist insults and monkey cries from some of the Udinese supporters. The player received full support from his club AC Milan, who said they were taking action against racism.
European football once again tainted by racism, goalkeeper Mike Maignan suffered racist insults and monkey cries during a match in Italy.
It was during the 21st day of Serie A during the Udinese Ac Milan match, which took place on January 20 in the Udine stadium located in the north of the country, that the French international goalkeeper of AC Milan Mike Maignan suffered racist insults and monkey cries from some of the Udinese supporters.
It was in the 26th minute of the match that Mike Maignan warned the referee of what was happening behind his goalkeeper’s cage. Then, he decided to leave the field in the 34th minute, followed by his teammates because the monkey cries and insults continued to resonate in the stadium. Despite the calls for order broadcast over the loudspeakers. The meeting then stopped for a few minutes. the match resumed but the racist insults did not stop.
AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan said:
“This is something that should not exist in the world of football, but unfortunately it is something that has been going on for so many years.“
This problem of racism in stadiums is recurrent in Italy. For the general manager of the Fare network (formerly Football Against Racism in Europe), Piara Powar, it’s because of the country’s politics:
“_Don’t forget that in Italy too, we have the backdrop of a far-right government for whom these kinds of issues are not a priority._We can sometimes understand the supporters’ confusion.”
“Football players tell them not to insult them, while the government tells them that immigration is bad and that immigrants are demonized every week.” did he declare.
The French international received a lot of support, notably from his French team captain Killian Mbappé, who made a tweet on the social network X.
His club AC Milan as well as the Udinese club also gave their full support to Mike Maignan. Furthermore, the two clubs declared that they were taking measures against racism in stadiums.