Udinese insisted the racist abuse aimed at Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan did not reflect the city, but the local council today voted against giving him honorary citizenship.
It was a small group of circa 10 people who were repeatedly shouting racist insults at Maignan during the first half of their Serie A match at the Bluenergy Stadium.
They were so persistent that the referee halted play for five minutes while a statement was read out threatening to call off the game if this continued.
After the match, Udinese and Mayor of Udine Alberto Felice De Toni tried to defend the reputation of the city in the Friuli region, assuring it was a hub of integration and multi-culturalism.
The Mayor suggested giving Maignan honorary citizenship of Udine, but that was voted down today in the council.
In order to pass the move, he needed three quarters of the council to vote in favour, but the minority representing the centre-right parties refused to back the idea.
Udinese ultras also did not help the situation during this weekend’s match, as they held up a banner that read: ‘You think we’re racists, well you are self-righteous hypocrites.’
So far, four Udinese fans have been identified and given lifetime bans by the club.
Il Consiglio comunale di #Udine boccia la proposta di concedere la cittadinanza a #Maignanhttps://t.co/jrjWt1H9Ws
— Alfredo Pedullà (@AlfredoPedulla) January 29, 2024
As long as, Italy can’t 01. Handle the racism, that’s been going on for decades 02. The complicated bureaucrazy to build & own stadiums for football clubs, then don’t expect Italian clubs to be financially on the same level as Premier League & La Liga clubs.
Surely this behavior will attract the best football talent to Udine… 😶
@boh! You do realise Udinese has the most amount of foreign players in Serie A yes?