- Milan’s 3-2 victory was marred by abuse that forced a break at Udinese on Saturday
- The supporter was also banned from every stadium in Italy by the police for five years
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Udinese will have to play a home match behind closed doors after AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan was racially abused during Saturday’s match in Udine, an Italian Football Federation (FIGC) judge said on Tuesday.
A FIGC judge issued the order based on reports from the referee and the federal prosecutor’s office.
“For an event of this magnitude and seriousness (…) the obligation to play a match behind closed doors (…) may apply,” the official statement said.
Maignan had warned referee Fabio Maresca before leaving the field due to repeated racist abuse from the local fans.
He was followed by his Milan teammates – many of whom hugged and kissed Maignan in support of his decision – through the tunnel before returning to the goal after a few minutes.
After a ruling by the Italian Football Association, Udinese will play one home match behind closed doors
Mike Maignan was the victim of racist abuse from the stands during the match in Udine on Saturday
The AC Milan goalkeeper consulted referee Fabio Maresca before leaving the field with his teammates for a few minutes
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The France international issued his own emotional statement on social media after the match, telling fans who knew about the abuse but did nothing to stop it that they were ‘accomplices’.
He also suggested that a lack of punishment would make complicity with the authorities, as he thanked his teammates for their support and joining him as he left the field of play.
A first punishment was handed out on Monday, with a supporter given a life ban for his actions, with Udinese chief Franco Collavino confirming the Italian side would make a concerted effort to ‘find those responsible’.
“We are working to find those responsible, there may only be two or three people,” he told Gazzetta dello Sport.
‘There were no chants, nor anything observed by the referee, nor by the prosecutor’s office. There were one, two, three unfortunate people, and this is enough to speak of a very serious matter.
‘We have already started looking at the footage from the stadium cameras, we also have to listen to the sound. There are more than 300 cameras inside and outside the Blueenergy Stadium, so there is a lot of work to be done in a short time.
‘A Daspo (Italian ban order) has a limited duration, but the club can decide to ban a fan from the stadium for a longer period of time. We will work to keep them out of the stadium forever, for life.”
The 46-year-old supporter – believed to be a known criminal in the province of Udine – was banned from every football stadium in Italy for the next five years following a police investigation.
Udinese also condemned all forms of discrimination and said it would cooperate with authorities in the investigation into the incident.
Milan won the match on the road 3-2 after play resumed, but Maignan was keen to share his thoughts after the final whistle
Udinese general manager Franco Collavino assured the public that the club was keen to cooperate with the authorities
After the final whistle of Saturday’s 3-2 win over the visitors, Maignan insisted it was impossible to continue playing under conditions of racist abuse from the stands.
“We can’t play football like that,” Maignan said after the match. ‘At the first goal kick I heard monkey chants and I didn’t say anything.’
‘Second goal kick, they did it again, so I called the bench and the fourth referee. There must be very strict sanctions. Just talking doesn’t accomplish anything.”
Udinese’s next scheduled home match is against Monza on February 3.