Four people who racially abused AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan during the weekend’s Serie A match in Udinese have been handed five-year stadium bans by Italian police.
AC Milan players briefly left the pitch on January 20 after alerting referee Fabio Maresca of the insults directed at the Frenchman.
On Wednesday, the office of Udine police commissioner Alfredo D’Agostino announced that four people had been identified using surveillance cameras from the stadium.
“There are four people, three men and one woman between the ages of 32 and 45, against whom the Udine police commissioner has issued a driving ban for a period of five years,” it said in a statement.
A five-year ban is the maximum penalty that can be imposed on first-time offenders for racial insults at football matches in Italy.
Following the police statement, Udinese announced that all four had been banned from the Bluenergy Stadium for life, after already announcing a lifetime ban for another fan on Monday.
“Udinese Calcio can confirm that four additional people have been identified in connection with the incident of discrimination against AC Milan player Mike Maignan,” it said in a statement.
“These individuals will also be banned from Bluenergy Stadium for life.
“As since the beginning, the club has continued its work alongside the police and reiterated its absolute determination to punish the perpetrators, as evidence of its concrete commitment against any form of discrimination.”
On Tuesday, the club was ordered by Serie A sports judge Gerardo Mastrandrea to play a game behind closed doors.
This ruling stated that the closure of the stadium for a match was the minimum penalty that could have been imposed and was chosen to reflect Udinese’s active stance and willingness from the outset to identify those responsible.
After the game, which resumed after a delay of about ten minutes, Maignan told Milan TV: “I heard them making monkey noises.
“When it happened a second time, I went to the dugout to inform them of what had happened behind the goal.
“This shouldn’t exist in the world of football, but unfortunately it has happened again and again for many years. We all have to react, we have to do something because you can’t play like that.”
