Fabio Capello feels the battle against racism in football is one ‘we all have to fight together’ following the abuse suffered by Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan in their clash with Udinese.
The 28-year-old French goalkeeper walked off the pitch in the first half of the Serie A clash on Saturday evening after being racially abused by some Udinese fans behind his goal. Play was briefly suspended before the match eventually resumed.
Udinese promised to ban the fans responsible from their stadium for life and the mayor of Udine put Maignan’s name forward for honorary citizenship in the city, offering to set up proposals to educate young people.
Speaking on page 19 of today’s Gazzetta dello Sport, Capello first proposed one idea of combatting racism in football matches.
“The players, in agreement with the captain and the coach, could sit on the ground and wait, until these people stop with the boos, the chants and all the other possible unsustainable situations. If the situation improves, they could start playing again, otherwise they’d stay there.”
He spoke about Maignan’s decision to walk off the pitch in the win over Udinese.
“And he did well, a very right decision. My proposal went in the same direction, we can’t wait for the dam to burst completely… Stopping, Maignan focused the spotlight on what was happening, and which evidently only few people had heard.
“How can you continue to play in the face of such uncivilized and shameful situations? Let’s remember that children also go to the stadium, what message would this send to the adults of tomorrow?
“The referee’s decision to suspend the match was equally right. They were two strong signals.”
The former coach also agreed with Milan’s decision to fall silent on social media on Sunday in response to the incident.
“It’s a position I share, in certain cases silence can make much more noise than words.”
Capello agreed with Maignan’s statement that everyone must take responsibility in the fight against racism in football.
“Absolutely, this is a battle that we all have to fight together, fans, clubs, institutions. I repeat, in cases like these words are of little use, we need to act and try to change things with examples, initiatives and measures.
“Football belongs to everyone, but there can be no place for those three-four idiots who go to the stadium only and exclusively to attack. Let’s not call them fans, they are not.”
He spoke about the need for those near the culprits to speak up.
“Habits that absolutely must be changed, otherwise you lose the meaning of everything. Instead of following herd logic, those who were close to those idiots who shouted ‘monkey’ should collaborate with the authorities and clubs.
“It is an act of a few, those who saw and heard it must help to identify them and punish them.”
The former coach discussed how the incident affected him as a Friulian.
“Look, I followed the match from Dubai, where I was for the Globe Soccer Awards. When I saw Maignan leave the pitch and return to the locker room I felt offended too. Offended, and angry, as a Friulian.
“Ours is a border land, where tolerance, welcomeness and inclusion are values that have always been rooted in people’s culture.
“I’ll stress again, it took a few stupid people a few minutes to ruin the image of a city, a region and a club that is an example of integration.”
Finally, Capello spoke about the proposal to hand Maignan honorary citizenship of Udine.
“I think it’s a nice idea. Udine is not racist, Friuli is not racist. But racism and all forms of discrimination must be fought, whenever and wherever they occur.”
Going to be an interesting time now in Serie A …losing a game? Say you heard a naughty word from the crowd …game gets called off …perfect!