‘There’ll Be Automatic Forfeits’ – FIFA’s Infantino Condemns ‘Abhorrent’ Racism During Games In Italy, England

‘There’ll Be Automatic Forfeits’ – FIFA’s Infantino Condemns ‘Abhorrent’ Racism During Games In Italy, England

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has urged for global stadium bans for fans and “automatic forfeits” for teams whose supporters engage in “abhorrent” abuse, in response to racist incidents in Italy and England over the weekend.

Infantino emphasized the absence of tolerance for any form of discrimination in football or society at large.

“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,” he said in a statement.

During AC Milan’s 3-2 victory against Udinese, fans directed monkey chants at goalkeeper Mike Maignan, leading to a temporary suspension of the match.

“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.

“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!

“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,” Infantino said.