Alessandro Florenzi reflected on the racist abuse recently suffered by Mike Maignan and discussed Milan’s goals for the second half of this season.
Maignan and his Rossoneri teammates walked off the pitch in the first half of their Serie A clash with Udinese on Saturday evening after the goalkeeper suffered racist abuse from some Udinese fans behind his goal.
The incident caused widespread condemnation around the wider footballing world and Maignan called on the ‘entire system to take responsibility’. Udinese have already identified and permanently banned a handful of supporters who were discovered to have committed the act.
Speaking to Sport Mediaset, Florenzi first reflected on the racist abuse aimed at Maignan.
“By leaving the pitch we took on a great responsibility, but we were close to Mike, if he hadn’t told us he was ready to come back, we wouldn’t have done it.
“After the match, we talked about it again between of us and as a team we complimented each other on how we handled the matter. It is no longer enough to say, ‘stop racism’, we need concrete gestures that can also go against the so-called laws of the pitch.”
He was asked if Milan could still fight Juventus and Inter for the Scudetto this season.
“First of all, we must congratulate Juventus and Inter for this almost clear path. We are making our own path and towards March-April we will see where we are at.”
The 32-year-old didn’t think that the Europa League could be considered a goal by Milan.
“Milan have never won it, right? Because it shouldn’t be a goal then, it’s there to play.”
He gave his thoughts on the work of the new signings.
“They fit into the group in an exceptional way, they just had to find the best condition. Jovic hadn’t even done pre-season, Okafor had some physical stops and go’s, but they are strong.”
Florenzi discussed the star status of Rafael Leao.
“A lot is always expected from him, he is a champion, he makes the team move forward on an offensive level. Two of the three goals we scored in Udine came from him.”
He was asked about the leaders in the squad.
“We have many, all different, including me. Maybe this is the secret, having many with different characteristics.”
Finally, Florenzi welcomed his former teammate Daniele De Rossi to the Roma dugout.
“I’m happy for a friend, when I read that there was this possibility, I was almost more excited than him.”
Florenzi: “Juve e Inter brave, noi guarderemo la classifica a marzo” #milan #florenzi #maignan #scudetto https://t.co/1uzyYdZ17f
— SportMediaset.it (@sportmediaset) January 25, 2024