“All accomplices”.
This is how Mike Maignan responded to the racist chants he received this Saturday against Udinese.
The AC Milan goalkeeper spoke this Sunday on X (formerly Twitter) to express his thoughts on this unacceptable behavior coming from the stands.
“We made press releases, advertising campaigns, protocols and nothing has changed,” lamented the French international in a long post published on the social network.
“It was not the player who was attacked.
It's the man.
He's the father of the family.
It’s not the first time that this has happened to me,” explains the French goalkeeper trained at PSG who has already been the victim of racist acts on several occasions in Italy, notably against Juventus Turin in September 2021 and February 2023.
“A fight we will win”
“Today, an entire system must take its responsibilities,” continues Mike Maignan, who targets the perpetrators of these acts – “because it is easy to act in a group, in the anonymity of a tribune" - the spectators next door "who heard everything but who chose to remain silent" but also the Udinese club "who only spoke of an interruption of the match, as if nothing had happened".
The final target of his message is the authorities of Italian and European football: “with everything that is happening, if you do nothing, YOU WILL ALSO BE COMPLICED”, he writes.
It was not the player who was attacked.
It's the man.
He's the father of the family.
This isn't the first time this has happened to me.
And I'm not the first this has happened to.
We made press releases, advertising campaigns, protocols and nothing changed.… pic.twitter.com/47tfcW4oNo
— Magic Mike Maignan (@mmseize) January 21, 2024
The French goalkeeper, who thanks the entire football world for their message of support, stopped playing on a six-yarder to play in the 33rd minute of play while his team was leading the score (1-0) , to denounce the behavior of the local supporters, after having warned the referee earlier in the match by miming monkey gestures.
Fabio Maresca then decided to stop the match.
The Rossoneri returned to the locker room, around their goalkeeper.
The French doorman who clearly explains that he does not feel like a “victim” concludes his message with a note of hope: “It’s a difficult fight, which will take time and courage.
But it's a fight we will win.
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