AC Milan walks off pitch after racist abuse from fans
AC Milan players walked off the pitch during their game against Udinese following the alleged racist chants towards goalkeeper Mike Maignan.
Maignan, AC Milan walks off
With Milan up by 1-0 in the 33rd minute, Maignan alerted the referee after allegedly receiving racist chants from the Udinese fans.
Maignan, who is Black, left the field followed by his teammates.
According to Sky Sports, the French goalie informed the official about the alleged monkey chants, which prompted the announcer at Stadio Friuli to ask the Udinese fans to stop.
“They made monkey noises and it’s not the first time it’s happened to me,” Maignan said.
“They are ignorant people. The fan comes to the stadium to cheer, maybe to whistle, but these things in football shouldn’t happen.”
AC Milan posted on X (formerly Twitter) during halftime: “There is absolutely no place in our game for racism: we are appalled:”
“We are with you, Mike.”
The league also wrote: “Lega Serie A condemns any form of racism.”
The game restarted about 10 minutes after the stoppage, with Maignan and the rest of AC Milan returning to the field.
AC Milan came away with a dramatic 3-2 victory after a goal from striker Noah Okafor in stoppage time.
Maignan, 28, previously experienced racial abuse while playing against Juventus two seasons ago.
Months later, Maignan and teammate Fikayo Tomori received racist chants from Cagliari fans.
Kylian Mbappe calls out racism
Meanwhile, Paris Saint-German star Kylian Mbappe offered his support to his France teammate.
“You are far from being alone, Mike Maignan,” Mbappé wrote on his X account.