UDINE (Reuters/Web Desk) – A stoppage-time goal by striker Noah Okafor secured AC Milan a 3-2 win at lowly Udinese in Serie A on Saturday after the game was briefly suspended in the first half due to racist chants towards Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan.
Milan are third in the standings on 45 points from 21 games, six behind leaders Inter Milan and four adrift of second-placed Juventus, who both have a game in hand.
Midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek gave Milan the lead with a low first-time shot inside the post shortly before the match was interrupted in the 33rd minute.
Maignan alerted the referee before leaving the pitch due to repeated racist chants from the local fans, as reported by Italian media, and was followed by his team mates to the tunnel.
"These things have nothing to do with football and they hurt, there is no such thing as black or white. We are all the same," Okafor told DAZN.
The club and the league took to social media platform X, formerly Twitter, to express their disappointment.
"There is absolutely no place in our game for racism: we are appalled," Milan said.
"Lega Serie A condemns any form of racism," added the Italian league.
The game was restarted after less than 10 minutes and midfielder Lazar Samardzic levelled for the hosts before the break before Florian Thauvin put Udinese in front in the 62nd minute.
But Milan managed to snatch victory when substitute Luka Jovic netted on a rebound in the 83rd minute, following up after Olivier Giroud hit the bar, and Okafor made it 3-2 in stoppage time from close range.
"In the first half hour we played well, we could have scored a few more goals," coach Stefano Pioli told a press conference. "The (Maignan) episode then destabilised us a bit, but we recovered by returning to play our game and we managed to find the victory with great determination."
The result saw Pioli enjoy his 100th Serie A win with Milan after 166 matches played.
He joined the narrow circle of four managers who previously had led the Rossoneri to 100 league wins: Carlo Ancelotti, Nereo Rocco, Fabio Capello and Nils Liedholm.
Milan next host seventh-placed Bologna on Jan 27.
Udinese, who are 17th with 18 points, visit fifth-placed Atalanta on the same day.
CALLS FOR SANCTIONS
Strong sanctions must be implemented to combat racism, Maignan said after the match. "I said we cannot play football like this. It is not the first time it has happened this way," Maignan told Sky Sports Italy.
"They must hand out very strong sanctions, because talking no longer does anything.”
"We have to say that what they are doing is wrong. It is not the whole crowd, most fans want to cheer on their team and jeer you, that’s normal, but not this."
FIFA president Gianni Infantino showed his solidarity with Maignan and called for measures to be taken in cases of racism.
"The events that took place in Udine and Sheffield Wednesday are totally abhorrent and completely unacceptable. There is no place for racism or any form of discrimination, either in football or in society. The players affected by Saturday's events have my full support," he said in a statement.
"In addition to the three-step process (match stopped, match stopped again and match abandoned), we need to enforce automatic defeat for the team whose fans committed racism and caused the match to be abandoned, as well as worldwide stadium bans and criminal charges for racists," he added.
Media reports said Coventry midfielder Kasey Palmer accused Sheffield Wednesday fans of racist chants during their English Championship clash, which his team won 2-1.
In describing the events that led to him leaving the field, Maignan said that in the first half, he heard monkey noises. "The second time I went to get the ball, I heard it again. I told the fourth official and my bench what happened.
"I was angry, because this isn’t the first time it has happened. I did not want to play, but we are a family and I could not leave my team mates like that," he added.
ROMA HALT SLIDE
Earlier, AS Roma, who are now eighth placed provisionally with 32 points, returned to the winning ways by beating 2-1 Verona at home, thanks to the two first half goals by Romelu Lukaku and Lorenzo Pellegrini.
Although Roma managed to leapfrog Napoli, the title holders, who are going through disappointing season, have one game in hand.
Michael Folorunsho reduced the deficit for the visitors in 76th minute, but it wasn’t enough for them to jump out of the relegation zone. They have 17 points after 21 matches and occupy the 18th spot.