AC Milan’s players walked off the pitch after France international goalkeeper Mike Maignan reported hearing monkey noises coming from a section of the crowd at the Stadio Friuli on Saturday.
Coventry’s Kasey Palmer said he received similar abuse at Hillsborough, where their 2-1 win was stopped for several minutes while the match officials spoke to both managers.
Milan’s players eventually returned to secure a 3-2 victory in added time, but Infantino said there should be harsher punishments.
He said as well as the current three-step process - match stopped, match re-stopped, match abandoned - what was needed was “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 show full solidarity to victims of racism and any form of discrimination. Once and for all: No to racism! No to any form of discrimination!” he said in a FIFA post on X.
“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.”
Maignan said something had to change as racist abuse had been part of football for too long.
“With all the cameras present and sanctions for these things, something must be done to change things,” he told Milan TV after confirming he heard fans making monkey noises.
“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”.
Coventry midfielder Palmer admitted he was sceptical things would change in the game, also writing 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.
“Couple fans doing monkey chants don’t define a fan base - I appreciate all the love and support I’ve received.”
AAP
