AC Milan stunned Udinese with a thrilling 3-2 comeback victory on Saturday in Serie A.
Unfortunately, racial shouts allegedly aimed at Rossoneri goalie, Mike Maignan, overshadowed the otherwise stunning triumph for his side.
Purportedly racist comments from Udinese supporters caused the France No. 1 to walk off the field. That caused this weekend’s Serie A match to be temporarily halted midway through the first half.
Maignan motioned for his teammates to halt just as Milan took a 1-0 lead and were ready to execute a penalty kick. “This isn’t the first time this has occurred to me”, the 28-year-old told DAZN, adding that they made monkey sounds.
His Red and Black teammates tried to reassure him from the sidelines. But after removing his gloves, the ex-Lille ace began to make his way down the tunnel, with his teammates close behind.
At one point during the match, Maignan informed the referee about monkey chants. It only led to a statement at the Stadio Friuli requesting that the crowd cease their behavior.
While the game was off, Milan issued a quick statement expressing their support for the goalkeeper: “There is absolutely no place in our game for racism: we are appalled. We are with you, Mike.
Returning to the field, Maignan and the rest of the Serie A squad resumed play around five minutes after the ban. Udinese scored an equalizer through Samardzic, demonstrating how this stoppage significantly influenced the away side.
Then, the second half began with the White and Blacks ahead thanks to a slew of Milan’s defensive mistakes. To Stefano Pioli’s relief, one of his substitutes, Jovic leveled the score in the 83rd minute.
Because of it, the Rossoneri were able to gain some momentum in the game and eventually scored in stoppage time. In the 93rd minute, Okafor saved the day as he came off the bench, and the squad prevailed.
After the game, Mike Maignan addressed the crowd and thanked his teammates for their encouragement before explaining his decision to leave the field.
“What happened in the first half is that at the first goal kick, I heard monkey noises, I said nothing. The second time I went to get the ball, I heard it again. I told the fourth official and my bench what happened.
“I said we cannot play football like this. It is not the first time it has happened this way. We have to say that what they are doing is wrong. It is not the whole crowd, most fans want to cheer on their team and jeer you, that’s normal, but not this.”
“I was upset to have to go into the changing room like that but I had everyone’s support. We talked and then we made the decision to go back out onto the field and make the appropriate response — to win this game.”
“I really didn’t want to play anymore. But we’re a family and I couldn’t leave my teammates like that”, he told Sky Italia.
Photo credit: IMAGO / ABACAPRESS
