Serie A club Udinese has identified a fan who racially abused AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan and banned him for life as it vowed to do the same for the other “evil people” amid calls for tougher sanctions from authorities following another weekend when Italian soccer games were overshadowed by fan misbehaviour.
Maignan, who is Black, walked off the field during Saturday’s Serie A match at Udinese after being subjected to what he later said were monkey noises.
The 28-year-old goalkeeper was joined by his teammates and the match was suspended for about five minutes before they returned, and Milan went on to win 3-2.
“In a joint effort with the local police authorities and utilising the Bluenergy Stadium security cameras, Udinese Calcio has identified the first individual responsible for discriminatory behaviour towards AC Milan player Mike Maignan,” Udinese said in a statement on Monday.
“This person will face a lifetime ban from attending any Udinese Calcio matches. This ban is effective immediately. We believe that such strong measures are necessary to send a clear message that racism has no place in football or society.”
A decision from the Italian sporting judge on Udinese’s punishment is expected on Tuesday.
Earlier this month, Lazio was sanctioned with a one-match partial stadium closure for racist chants directed at Romelu Lukaku.
Authorities can also issue orders known as a Daspo banning individuals from stadiums for a maximum of five years.
“We’re working to go in search of those responsible, there can only be two or three people. There were no chants, in that they weren’t perceived by either the referee or the prosecutor’s office. There were one, two, three evil people, and this is enough for it to be a very serious thing,” Udinese general manager Franco Collavino said earlier on Monday before the first supporter was identified.
“We have already started looking at the images from the stadium cameras, we also have to listen to the audio. … A Daspo has a limited duration, but the club can decide to ban a fan from a stadium for a longer period of time. We will work to ban them from the stadium forever, for life.”
