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The FIFA president has called for stronger action after different cases of racism in Italy and England over the weekend.
On Saturday, January 20th, 2024, the ugly scenes of racism reared its head in our beautiful sport once again, with France international Mike Maignan becoming the latest victim.
Mike Maignan's racism incident
The picture of him walking off in AC Milan’s clash away at Udinese is not something you want to see in football, but no one can fault him for that action.
Maignan walked off after numerous racist chants from the home crowd were aimed at him. In solidarity, his AC Milan walked off with him, which was a beautiful thing to see.
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16:46 - 21.01.2024
AC Milan goalkeeper Maignan calls for further punishment following racial abuse
AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan has called on authorities to take further action on clubs that racially abuse players on the field.
Although Maignan and his AC Milan teammates came back to the pitch to win the game 3-2, the result was overshadowed by the racism incident.
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This incident, as expected, grabbed headlines across the world, with Serie A in the news for the wrong reasons again.
Maignan’s incident is the latest of the racism troubles that have plagued the Italian top flight every season.
The French goalkeeper is not the first black player to be racially abused in the Italian top flight. In fact, this is not the first time the ex-Lille man would be racially abused in Italy.
However, it’s important to note that racism is not only exclusive to Serie A. That same day in England, Coventry star Kasey Palmer was also racially abused in his side’s win over Sheffield Wednesday.
Palmer reported to referee Anthony Backhouse that a supporter had made monkey gestures towards him before addressing the issue again on his social media page.
Following the two incidents, there was the customary press release, social media statements and adverts against racism in football.
Infantino's lead is the way to go in fight against Racisim
But of all the statements that were released after the incident, one which stood out is that of Gianni Infantino, the most powerful man in football.
The FIFA President said: “The events that took place in Udine and Sheffield on Saturday are totally abhorrent and completely unacceptable.
“There is no place for racism or any form of discrimination - both in football and in society. The players affected by Saturday’s events have my undivided support.
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16:39 - 21.01.2024
‘Something must be done to change things’ - The football world reacts to racist abuse aimed at Mike Maignan and Kasey Palmer
A lot of comments have gone around regarding the recent racial abuse of Mike Maignan and Kasey Palmer.
“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.
“As well as the three-step process (match stopped, match re-stopped, match 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.
“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!”
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While Infantino deserves praise for reacting to the two incidents swiftly, one notable part stuck in the statement he released.
The FIFA president said it may be time for football authorities to start implementing automatic forfeits for teams whose fans are guilty of racist abuse.
This is a bold statement from Infantino, and he should be praised for it. Overtime, we have seen football authorities enable racists by handing out punishments that are not strong enough.
While education is important, it is critical to implement stiffer punishments for teams whose fans are guilty of racist abuse, and Infantino’s statement may be the approach to take.
We have seen that mere statements and banners will not stop these people from hurling racist abuse, and neither will a partial or full stadium ban.
Although it is important to continue to educate fans about these things, football authorities also need to start taking stronger actions Infantino suggested.
While one could argue that a team should not suffer just because some fans decided to be stupid, it may be the only way to stop these fans from attending football matches.
Also, some of these fans love their teams dearly and will think carefully before hurling racist abuse at players, knowing their team is likely going to lose points because of their actions.
Racism does not happen in football only because the game, after all, is just a subset of society. However, football can take the lead and show the rest of the world how to deal with racists who tarnish our beautiful game.
Football is a beautiful sport made for everyone, but it is always surprising to see fans discriminate against players just because of their skin colour or where they came from.
However, for this to stop, football may need to follow Infantino’s lead and start handing out stronger punishments to teams whose fans are guilty of racism.
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