FIFA president Gianni Infantino said on Saturday that teams whose fans engage in racist abuse should be made to forfeit following incidents in Italy’s Serie A and England’s Championship.
AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan briefly left the pitch in protest during a 3-2 win at Udinese due to repeated racist chants from home fans. He alerted the referee before walking to the team’s dressing room, followed by his teammates, before returning after a few minutes.
Earlier on Saturday, Coventry midfielder Kasey Palmer said he was a victim of racist abuse in the final stages of a 2-1 away victory at Sheffield Wednesday.
Infantino said in a statement released by FIFA: “The events that took place in Udine and Sheffield Wednesday are totally abhorrent and completely unacceptable. There is no place for racism or any form of discrimination, either in football or in society. The players affected by Saturday’s events have my full support.
“In addition to the three-step process [match stopped, match stopped again and match abandoned], we need to enforce automatic defeat for the team whose fans committed racism and caused the match to be abandoned, as well as worldwide stadium bans and criminal charges for racists,” he added.
