Milan v Udinese temporarily stops as Mike Maignan faces racial abuse

The Serie A game involving Milan and Udinese has temporarily stopped after Mike Maignan faced racial abuse.

The Rossoneri were 1-0 up in the game but Maignan, who was standing close to the Udinese fans, complained to the referee in the 36th minute. Amidst all the confusion, the Frenchman walked off from the penalty area, spoke to the referee and informed him about the racist abuse from Udinese fans.

It was soon learnt that Maignan was indeed subjected to racial abuse and he walked off the pitch and into the tunnel, as the Milan team followed. The referee too stopped the game as the game didn’t start for some minutes, until Maignan returned to the pitch, evidently disturbed.

This isn’t the first time that a player has suffered racial abuse in Italian football and has threatened to walk off but this taking place in 2024 is disgusting and it remains to be seen what authorities can do.

Kaustubh Pandey | GIFN