Football: Racism Could Lead to Forfeit of Matches

Supporters can literally determine the outcome of a football match. They may not be able to assist their favorites, but this is just a detail. Gianni Infantino, the President of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), has come out in favor of a default loss for teams whose fans engage in insults or racist chants. The president of the international body responded following Saturday's incident in the Italian championship when AC Milan and French national football team goalkeeper Mike Maignan left the field after being subjected to racist chants during the match against Udinese (3-2). Maignan headed toward the reserve bench in the 34th minute, followed by his teammates. In the aftermath of these incidents, Maignan urged governing bodies to take action against this scourge that consistently reappears in football stadiums. In a statement, the FIFA president condemned the behavior of fans towards the Milanese player and Kasey Palmer, Coventry's player, who was also the target of racist manifestations in the match against Sheffield on the same day. "These are totally hateful and unacceptable events. There is no place for racism. The targeted players have my unconditional support," said the FIFA president, proposing severe sanctions. "In addition to the three-step rule (interrupted match, match interrupted a second time, match abandoned altogether), we will have to establish the rule of an automatic forfeit for the team whose fans make racist insults that lead to a match interruption, as well as stadium bans and legal consequences for racism," Infantino concluded.

Racist incidents are becoming increasingly prevalent in stadiums, from Italy to England and from Spain to France.