AC Milan leave pitch after alleged racist abuse of goalkeeper Mike Maignan

AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan and his team-mates walked off the pitch during the first half of the Serie A match at Udinese on Saturday evening.

The 28-year-old France international left the action shortly after his team had taken the lead, apparently indicating to referee Fabio Maresca he had heard racist abuse from the crowd at the Stadio Friuli.

There is absolutely no place in our game for racism: we are appalled.
We are with you, Mike.#WeRespAct pic.twitter.com/GR52R7RR7G
— AC Milan (@acmilan) January 20, 2024

Maignan was followed by the other Milan players but they returned to the pitch soon after and play was able to resume around seven minutes after Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s goal had broken the deadlock.

Maignan was beaten three minutes later by a Lazar Samardzic shot and the teams went in at half-time level at 1-1 after six minutes of stoppage time.