Forfeit games when fans are racist – FIFA President warns football clubs

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has advocated for the introduction of an automatic forfeiture of matches for teams whose supporters engage in racist abuse.

This comes in response to incidents that he labeled as “completely unacceptable” at Udinese and Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday.

The match between AC Milan and Udinese was temporarily halted due to reported racist abuse from home fans directed at Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan.

Additionally, Coventry’s Kasey Palmer reported experiencing similar abuse at Hillsborough.

Infantino expressed his stance in a post on X, emphasizing the need for more severe penalties in such cases.

“As well as the three-step process (match stopped, match re-stopped, match abandoned), we have to implement an automatic forfeit for the team whose fans have committed racism and caused the match to be abandoned, as well as worldwide stadium bans and criminal charges for racists,” he said.

“Fifa and football shows full solidarity to victims of racism and any form of discrimination. Once and for all: No to racism! No to any form of discrimination!

“The events that took place in Udine and Sheffield on Saturday are totally abhorrent and completely unacceptable. The players affected by Saturday’s events have my undivided support.

“We need all the relevant stakeholders to take action, starting with education in schools so that future generations understand that this is not part of football or society.”

AC Milan’s players walked off the pitch after France international goalkeeper Maignan reported hearing “monkey noises” coming from a section of the crowd at the Stadio Friuli. The players eventually returned and Milan went on to win 3-2.

“This shouldn’t exist in the world of football, but unfortunately for many years this is a recurrence,” the 28-year-old told Milan TV.

“With all the cameras present and sanctions for these things, something must be done to change things.

“We all have to react, we must do something because you can’t play like this.”

Milan and city rivals Inter have both publicly supported Maignan, Serie A said it “condemns all forms of racism”, while France striker Kylian Mbappe said “enough is enough”.

Former England and Arsenal striker Ian Wright commended the “unity” demonstrated by the Milan team and encouraged teams to “continue walking off” the field when faced with abuse, advocating for more robust penalties.

The incident involving Palmer occurred during Coventry’s 2-1 Championship victory over Sheffield Wednesday, currently positioned near the bottom of the league. This resulted in a temporary suspension of the match while officials engaged in discussions with both managers.

Wednesday acknowledged that the gesture originated from someone in the stands and affirmed that anyone “found culpable” would be subject to the “most stringent possible penalties.”

However, Palmer expressed skepticism about significant changes occurring in the sport, also stating on X: “Racism is a disgrace… it has no place in the world, let alone football.”

“I’m black and proud and I am raising my three kids to be the exact same. I’ll be honest, it feels like things will never change, no matter how hard we try.

“[A] couple [of] fans doing monkey chants don’t define a fanbase – I appreciate all the love and support I’ve received.”