Udinese CEO Franco Collavino confirmed that the club are working to help identify the fans who racially abused Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan, promising to ban them ‘for life’.
The 28-year-old Rossoneri goalkeeper suffered racist abuse from some Udinese fans in the first half of their Serie A clash on Saturday evening. He and his teammates briefly left the pitch, and the match was suspended, before eventually resuming.
Maignan received widespread support from the footballing world and penned a personal letter discussing the incident, calling on the ‘entire system to take responsibility’ in the fight against racism in football.
Speaking via La Gazzetta dello Sport, Udinese CEO Collavino discussed the club’s position and confirmed their intention to punish the fans responsible for racially abusing Maignan.
“We’re working to go in search of those responsible, there can only be two or three people. There were no chants, nothing perceived by either the referee or the prosecutor’s office. There were one, two, three wretches, and this is enough for it to be a very serious thing.
“We have already started looking at the images from the stadium cameras, we also have to listen to the audio. At the Blueenergy Stadium, between inside and outside, there are over 300 cameras, there is a lot of work to do in a very short time.
“A Daspo has a limited duration, but the club can decide to ban a fan from a stadium for a longer period of time. We will work to ban them from the stadium forever, for life.”
Udinese released an official statement on Sunday in response to the incident, condemning the abuse and promising to help identify those responsible. The mayor of Udine also put Maignan’s name forward for honorary citizenship and offered to set up some initiatives in the city.