FIFA president Gianni Infantino calls for forfeits after racist incidents in AC Milan, Coventry City matches

Players in both matches were subject to racist abuse by opposition fans

FIFA president Gianni Infantino advocated for the introduction of automatic forfeits for teams whose fans racially abuse opposition players after abusive behavior overshadowed two separate matches on Saturday.

AC Milan's 3-2 win over Udinese was halted in the first half after goalkeeper Mike Maignan said he heard multiple rounds of "monkey noises" directed towards him. The match was suspended for 10 minutes as Maignan led his teammates off the pitch, but eventually resumed. The same day, Coventry City's Kasey Palmer said he also faced racist abuse from Sheffield Wednesday supporters after his side's 2-1 win.

Infantino described the events as "totally abhorrent and completely unacceptable" in a statement issued on social media on Sunday before calling for an update to FIFA's racism policy.

"We have to implement an automatic forfeit for the team whose fans have committed racism and caused the match to be abandoned," he said, "as well as worldwide stadium bans and criminal charges for racists."

FIFA already has a three-step process to address racism at matches in which matches are stopped twice before they are formally abandoned. World soccer's governing body also has the ability to order teams to play in empty stadiums as punishment for racism by fans and issue fines, while other authoritative organizations boast similar powers.

In some countries like the U.K., police have the power to investigate and charge offenders for racist conduct. South Yorkshire Police have opened a probe in relation to Palmer's account.

Infantino also advocated for all "relevant stakeholders to take action," including further education in schools.

Partial to full stadium bans for fans have been FIFA's most strict tool in recent years to punish teams for racism in the stands, but it has been a fairly ineffective one. Forfeits would be the sport's harshest punishment yet to combat discrimination and would come after years of criticism that the governing body has not done enough to hold guilty parties accountable.

Infantino did not specify the next steps he or FIFA would take to enact a new anti-racism policy, nor did he offer up a timeline.

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