After a similar incident involving the French national goalkeeper Mike Maignan from AC Milan, a strange coalition wants to take on the annoying problem.
Mike Maignan, AC Milan goalkeeper, said after the abuse against him: “Now the entire football system must assume its responsibility.”
Fabrizio Andrea Bertani / Imago
The racism incident in the Udine stadium last Saturday is becoming a political issue. Italy’s post-fascist ministerial team is forced to verbally condemn what happened after Mike Maignan, the AC Milan goalkeeper, was vilified.
Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said: “These hateful gestures by a handful of delinquents who try to hide in the crowd discredit an entire society and give a distorted image of our country.” Sports officials also expressed their horror. But we know that about them. The text modules have been available for years. Because these types of incidents have a tradition.
In 2005, Messina’s Ivorian defender Marco André Zoro left the pitch after being racially abused by Inter Milan fans. In 2010, Samuel Eto’o, wearing an Inter jersey, retaliated against attacks by Cagliari supporters not only with a goal, but also with a parody of the monkey noises and monkey movements with which he had previously been targeted.
In 2013, Kevin-Prince Boateng furiously shot a ball towards the fan corner of the lower-class club Pro Patria, against whom AC Milan was playing a friendly match. Here too, monkey noises and insults were the trigger. The entire Milan team left the pitch in solidarity – this also happened now, a good decade later in Friuli.
Solidarity with Mike Maignan for taking a stand against racism.
We are with you ✊pic.twitter.com/SrowAFOico
— FIFPRO (@FIFPRO) January 20, 2024
Maignan argued with the referee – and later took his industry to task
The complete list of incidents would take up pages. In any case, only what led to cancellations, sanctions and publicized complaints from those affected and thereby gained attention is recorded. What is new is that FIFA President Gianni Infantino is intervening in the debate. He called for tougher measures against clubs involved, including automatic exclusions. And he spoke of worldwide stadium bans for individual delinquents. He now has to be measured against that.
In Udine it was not an isolated incident. As early as the 25th minute, Milan goalie Maignan went to referee Fabio Maresca to complain about insults from the stands. After Milan’s opening goal, the situation escalated. Maignan went to the referee again, who wanted to calm him down. Maresca said: “I tried to act like a big brother towards him. I felt sorry for what had happened to him, he seemed very emotionally upset.”
Maignan couldn’t be calmed down, also because Maresca didn’t signal to him at that moment that he wanted to interrupt the match. The referee later defended himself: “I had to keep an eye on the entire situation and stuck to the rules. This initially involved warnings to the spectators via the stadium microphones, then asking the players to leave the field and finally abandoning the game. But the latter wasn’t necessary.”
Maignan saw it differently. And had reason to. Because even after the break, when all players had returned and Udinese had made it 1-1, the French international had to endure insults from shouters.
Maignan took his industry to task: “I’ve had to experience this before, and I’m not the first to be attacked like this. We issued press releases and wrote minutes, but nothing has changed. Now the entire football system must assume its responsibility.” Numerous players expressed their solidarity with him, including the Brazilian Vinicius Junior, the Real Madrid star, who has been the victim of such insults on several occasions.
Mike Maignan on tonight’s events. We are with you, @mmseize.#UdineseMilan #SempreMilan pic.twitter.com/bs8yQjpsF9
— AC Milan (@acmilan) January 20, 2024
What makes everything even more bizarre is that twelve players from home club Udinese have African ancestry
Meanwhile, in Udine, a cascade of apologies was set in motion. Maignan was promised honorary citizenship by the mayor of the city. After evaluating the stadium cameras, the security authorities identified a perpetrator. He was banned from the stadium for five years. The Udinese club announced that they wanted to ban all those guilty for life.
This can also be interpreted as an attempt to get away with the least possible punishment. In any case, the sports court left it at the minimum penalty; the one match without spectators. What makes the situation in Udine even more bizarre: The club is known for intensive scouting abroad; there are only five Italians in the squad and twelve players have African ancestry. Internationality has long been the trump card here.
The monkey noises are unlikely to have ever been directed at their own players. Although there was this strange incident in 1989: At that time, Udinese wanted to sign the Israeli player Ronny Rosenthal, which triggered a wave of indignation among the club’s ultras, and slogans like “Jews out” appeared. The transfer failed.
Highlight show from Mike Maignan, one of the best goalies in Serie A.
Youtube
Football has a toxic component
Two phenomena combine in the Italian stages: a latent right-wing or right-wing extremist sentiment; Groups like Forza Nuova formed especially in the football arenas. Another catalyst for the poisonous atmosphere is the bad habit of devaluing the opponent. It starts with whistles when the line-up is announced and continues with massive insults and even racist insults.
Not everyone who shouts along has to be a racist outside the stadium. But the boundaries are blurring. And here football, which sociologists like to see as an outlet for reducing everyday frustration, takes on a toxic component. This is how racism is practiced in the stadiums and is essentially made normal.
There is no particular interest in taking countermeasures. Clubs fear penalties and are therefore more tempted to downplay problems. Infantino’s proposal to “automatically” exclude clubs with racism problems is likely to meet with greater resistance in the industry.
Italy’s Interior Minister Piantedosi promised a different path. He wants to deter individual perpetrators more through more drastic punishments and more consistent prosecution. The clarification of the scandal in Udine could set standards in this regard.