AC Milan French goalkeeper Mike Maignan victim of racism, the world of football is outraged – Libération

After monkey cries launched against him by Udinese fans, the French goalkeeper left the field with his teammates. From Kylian Mbappé to Italian football players, the condemnations are raining down.

“Enough is enough”: in unison with the captain of the France team Kylian Mbappé, the world of football condemns this Sunday, January 21, the racist insults suffered by Mike Maignan on Saturday during the Italian Championship match between Udinese and AC Milan. “Today, an entire system must take responsibility. 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 saw everything, who heard everything but who chose to remain silent, you are complicit,” denounced Mike Maignan on X this Sunday.

“The Udinese club, which only spoke of an interruption of the match, as if nothing had happened, you are complicit. The authorities and the prosecutor, with everything that is happening, if you do nothing, YOU WILL ALSO BE COMPLICED,” continued Maignan. Before concluding: “I am not a victim […] It is a difficult fight, which will take time and courage. But it’s a fight we will win.” This racist act is the latest in European stadiums, particularly in Italy, which is regularly affected.

“I didn’t want to play anymore”

This is not the first time that Maignan has been the target of racist insults from the stands since he joined AC Milan in 2021. The Blues goalkeeper had in the past already denounced the behavior of Juve fans in September 2021, then those of Cagliari in March 2022. What happened on Saturday at the Bluenergy Stadium “has no place in a stadium”, he insisted after the match won 3 to 2 by the Milan. “They are stupid people… We can be whistled or jeered at by opposing supporters when we play away, that’s normal, but they imitated monkey cries,” he explained.

Maignan, 28, first warned the match referee of what was happening in the stands behind his goal in the 26th minute. Then he decided to leave the field in the 34th minute when new monkey cries resounded, despite calls as provided for in article 62 of the championship regulations, to stop the insults broadcast in the stadium under penalty of the match being definitely stopped. He was imitated by all his teammates, who, when the referee interrupted the match, then returned to their locker rooms.

A strong gesture which, Maignan hopes, will leave an impression: “We must make it clear to the referee and to everyone that this is how we must act.” While he initially thought of not resuming the match (“I didn’t want to play anymore. […] I was angry”), Maignan was finally on the pitch when the referee restarted the match after a five-minute interruption.

He conceded two goals but AC Milan finally won 3-2 and, led by Maignan, celebrated this success with their fans present in Udine. “It’s even more beautiful to win like that, no to racism,” rejoiced his teammate Rafael Leao.

“In this country ignorance triumphs and racism has always gone hand in hand with ignorance”

“You are very far from being alone Mike Maignan. We are all with you,” wrote Kylian Mbappé on his X account (formerly Twitter). Always the same problems and still NO solution.” “You have our full support Mike Maignan,” added the French Football Federation on the French team’s X account, while Marcus Thuram and Antoine Griezmann had given their support to their teammate on Saturday evening.

Other Serie A clubs have given their support to the French goalkeeper such as the great rival, Inter: “We are brothers, against all forms of discrimination and at your side.” “There is no place for racism in football, we support Maignan and firmly condemn what happened in Udine,” underlined the president of the Italian Football Federation, Gabriele. Gravina, who welcomed the referee’s decision to stop the match.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino called for perpetrators of racist insults to be banned from all stadiums, as well as to introduce an “automatic forfeit” sanction for clubs whose fans commit these misdeeds. But while she is regularly confronted with the scourge of racism in stadiums, as experienced by the Ivorian Marc-André Zoro in 2005, the Ghanaian Kevin-Prince Boateng in 2013, the Frenchman Samuel Umtiti last year or this season the Belgian Romelu Lukaku, Italy is still far from such firmness. Fiorentina was thus sanctioned in November with a suspended match behind closed doors for racist chants by its supporters.

“How is it possible that in 2024 we will still hear racist chants in a stadium? 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 with ignorance,” accused Arrigo Sacchi, the former Italian coach in a column published by the Gazzetta dello Sport which headlines on “The shame of Udine”.