“As long as racist slurs are treated as isolated incidents and no global action is taken, history is bound to repeat itself over and over again.” Mike Maignan has only been living in Italy for a few months, but the words seem to be those of someone who knows perfectly the mechanisms and dynamics of our championship. Every weekend the same refrain, vulgar howls and insults from the stands, rivers of controversy in the post-game, promises of hard fist, opening of investigations that disappear in the offices of the Federal Prosecutor, only to reappear months later in 90% of cases with archiving or at most with some economic fines to companies. Last Sunday during Juventus – Milan at the Allianz Stadium, history repeated itself, this time it was the turn of Mike Maignan, the Rossoneri goalkeeper who arrived this summer to replace Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Before the kick-off, a series of offenses and insults with a clear racial background rained down from the stands of the Juventus fans, and yesterday evening Maignan gave Instagram a long outburst, protesting against the passivity of football institutions on the issue. «What do we do to combat racism in stadiums? Do we really believe this is effective? – asks the Milan goalkeeper – in the rooms that govern football, do the people who decide know what it’s like to hear insults and screams that relegate us to the rank of animals? ». The usual questions, which almost never find answers.
Milan is one of the teams that are most committed to the fight against racism, often its players find themselves at the center of such episodes. It had already happened the previous Sunday, when in Milan – Lazio Franck Kessié and Tiémoué Bakayoko were targeted by the Juventus supporters, and the Rossoneri club had presented a complaint to the FIGC, which had opened yet another investigation. Milan has chosen the path of collaboration, and has contacted Juventus who are examining the cameras of the Juventus Stadium to identify those responsible. Maignan, however, in the post on Instagram stresses that he does not want to feel like a victim. “I’m Mike, standing black and proud. As long as we can use our voice to change things, we will do it, ”concluded the French goalkeeper.