Four Udinese fans banned for life over AC Milan goalkeeper racist abuse

Four Udinese fans who racially abused AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan have been banned for life by the Serie A club.

A league match on January 20 saw a brief suspension of play as AC Milan walked off the pitch, notifying the referee of the racial abuse.

Italian police have now announced that the four fans involved are banned from all Italian stadiums for five years.

Additionally, Udinese has confirmed the extension of this ban to a lifetime prohibition from Stadio Friuli.

“Udinese can confirm that it has identified four further individuals relating to the incident of discrimination towards AC Milan player Mike Maignan,” the club said in a statement on Wednesday.

“These individuals will also be banned from the Bluenergy Stadium [Stadio Friuli] for life.

“As has been the case from the very beginning, the club has continued its work alongside the police, reaffirming its absolute determination to punish the culprits as evidence of its concrete commitment against any form of discrimination.”

Udinese confirmed on Monday that another fan had been banned for life.

Earlier on Wednesday, Italian police identified a man from the city of Udine, along with a woman and two other men from the local area, through analysis of video footage from the stadium. The suspects’ details have been forwarded to prosecutors.

Authorities can impose a maximum ban of five years for first-time offenders of racist abuse at football matches, while individual clubs have the discretion to enforce longer bans from their own venues. As a result of the incident, Udinese has also been mandated to play one match behind closed doors.

Following the game, which Milan won 3-2, Mike Maignan reported hearing “monkey noises” and advocated for “very strong sanctions” against the offenders in an interview with Sky Sports Italy.