During AC Milan’s clash against Udinese on Saturday evening, Mike Maignan suffered racial abuse from the home fans and play was halted for five minutes. On his Instagram, the goalkeeper has now published a message about the incident.
Today’s newspapers, which you can read here, have labelled the incidents in the stands as a ‘disgrace’ and one can only agree. Maignan first alerted the referee at the start of the first half, promoting an announcement by the stadium speaker, but play was then halted when the abuse kept on coming.
On his Instagram, the goalkeeper has published a message about the incident and the situation as a whole, with football still struggling with racism. He stated that action needs to be taken, and above all that there needs to be consequences for the culprits, of which there are many.
“It was not the player who was attacked. It was the man. A father of the family. This isn’t the first time this has happened to me, and I’m not the first player to experience it.
“We have made press releases, advertising campaigns, and protocols but nothing has changed. Today, an entire system must take its responsibilities:
“The perpetrators of these acts, because it is easy to act in a group, in the anonymity of a forum. The spectators who were in the stand, who saw everything, who heard everything but who chose to remain silent, you are complicit.
“The Udinese club, which only spoke of an interruption of the match, as if nothing had happened, you are complicit. The authorities and the prosecutor, with everything that is happening, if you do nothing, YOU WILL ALSO BE COMPLICIT.
“I have already told you and if it bears repeating: I’m not a VICTIM. And I want to say thank you to my club AC Milan, to my teammates, to the referee, to the Udinese players and to everyone who sent me messages, who called me, who supported me privately and publicly. I can’t answer everyone but I see you and we are TOGETHER.
“It is a difficult fight, which will take time and courage. But it’s a fight we will win” he wrote.
Maignan ended up making a very good save for Milan in the second half, but it mattered little as Udinese scored the 2-1 goal just moments later. Nevertheless, the Frenchman showcased great strength to continue playing after walking off.
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King 👑👑☀️
What was more frustrating was the fact that the Udinese fans started to whistle at him whenever he touched the ball as if he did something wrong.
Forza maignan
🙏Forza Mike