GdS: Referee failed to halt play despite racist insults towards Maignan | OneFootball

During yesterday’s clash between AC Milan and Hellas Verona at Stadio Bentegodi, Mike Maignan was the subject of racist insults from the stands. However, as the goalkeeper pointed out after the game, the referee didn’t stop the game.

Unfortunately, racism in Italian football doesn’t exactly come as a shock, especially for Maignan who has experienced it before. In January this year, Milan and the goalkeeper walked off the pitch in an away game against Udinese for that exact reason, with audible chants from the home fans.

According to today’s edition of Gazzetta dello Sport (see photo below), Maignan received racist insults in the second half of yesterday’s game from the home fans. There were no clear chants, unlike what happened in Udinese, but harsh words were certainly thrown his way by certain individuals.

Nevertheless, after the full-time whistle, Maignan had a long discussion with the referee Livio Marinelli about why he didn’t stop the game. At the very least, the goalkeeper wanted the referee to follow protocol and halt the game, allowing the speaker to make an announcement saying further insults would result in a suspension of the game.

It wasn’t as serious as what happened in Udine, in other words, but it’s bad enough that Maignan felt the need to speak to the referee. In 2024, soon 2025, these incidents cannot keep occurring and harsh penalties must be put in place for the culprits.

On their social media, Milan published a message in support of Maignan, with the captain “Stop racism!”.