Gianni Infantino has called for an automatic forfeit of games for football teams whose fans commit racist abuse. The Fifa president proposed the move in a statement condemning the “totally abhorrent” incidents on Saturday at Udinese and Sheffield Wednesday.
Milan’s players walked off the pitch in Udine after the France goalkeeper Mike Maignan reported hearing monkey noises coming from a section of the crowd. The visiting team returned to the field and went on to win the Serie A game 3-2 at the Stadio Friuli. The Coventry midfielder Kasey Palmer reported similar abuse at Hillsborough and their 2-1 win was stopped for several minutes while the match officials spoke to both managers.
In a statement posted by Fifa on X, formerly known as Twitter, Infantino called for action that goes beyond the current “three-step process”, where play is stopped twice before a match is 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,” Infantino said.
“The events that took place in Udine and Sheffield on Saturday are totally abhorrent and completely unacceptable. The players affected by Saturday’s events have my undivided support. 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 head of world football’s governing body added. “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.”
Maignan joined the calls for greater accountability on Sunday. “The perpetrators of these acts, because it is easy to act in a group in the anonymity of a platform, the spectators who were in the stand who chose to remain silent, you are complicit,” he wrote.
After the match on Saturday, the former Lille keeper told Milan TV: “This shouldn’t exist in the world of football, but unfortunately for many years this is a recurrence. With all the cameras present and sanctions for these things, something must be done to change things. We all have to react, we must do something because you can’t play like this.”
Palmer also posted a statement on X but expressed scepticism that things would change. “Racism is a disgrace … it has no place in the world, let alone football. I’m black and proud and I am raising my three kids to be the exact same,” the 27-year-old wrote. “I’ll be honest, it feels like things will never change, no matter how hard we try. Couple fans doing monkey chants don’t define a fanbase – I appreciate all the love and support I’ve received.”
The anti-discrimination organisation Kick It Out commended Maignan and Palmer for their courage in speaking out, but called for “stronger and more meaningful punishments” for racist abuse. “Now it’s up to authorities and clubs to punish those responsible, but if clubs cannot prevent this happening they too should face consequences,” it said in a statement on social media.
“It cannot be on the players to solve this,” the statement added. “They are already showing courage under extreme distress and emotional trauma. They need support with actions not words.”
Fifa announced in June last year that it would set up a taskforce to tackle racism, with Real Madrid forward Vinícius Júnior taking a prominent role. The governing body faced heavy criticism in 2016 for dissolving a previous anti-racism taskforce, writing to members claiming it had “completely fulfilled its temporary mission.”
Maignan’s international teammate Kylian Mbappé issued his own response to the incident in Italy. “You are very far from being alone Mike Maignan. We are all with you. Still the same problems and still NO solution. Enough is enough. NO TO RACISM,” the Paris Saint-Germain striker wrote on X.
The former England and Arsenal striker Ian Wright urged teams to “keep walking off” when they hear abuse and called for stronger sanctions. “We did ‘playing through it’ and nothing has changed. Points deductions needed, the fines are pointless,” he said.
Udinese said in a statement on Sunday that the club “deeply regrets and condemns every act of racism and violence” and the mayor of Udine, Alberto Felice De Toni, invited Maignan to the city to “carry out concrete initiatives to combat discrimination” and said he would propose to the city council to grant the goalkeeper an honorary citizenship. Milan’s city rivals, Internazionale, have publicly supported Maignan, while Serie A said it “condemns all forms of racism”.
Sheffield Wednesday said they were “shocked and saddened” by the incident and said anyone found culpable will face “the strictest possible sanctions from both Sheffield Wednesday and the law”. The Coventry City owner, Doug King, and manager, Mark Robins, also condemned the abuse and offered their full support to Palmer.
