FIFA president Gianni Infantino has called for an automatic forfeit of games for the teams whose fans indulge in racism acts during the play in various leagues such as Italian Serie A, English Premier League (EPL) and Spanish La Liga. He shared the thoughts after two separate incidents of racisms on Saturday (January 20) which included Serie A and English Football League (EFL) or the Championship.

“As well as the three-step process (match stopped, match re-stopped, match abandoned), we have to implement an automatic forfeit for the team whose fans have committed racism and caused the match to be abandoned, as well as worldwide stadium bans and criminal charges for racists,” said Infantino via a FIFA post on X.

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“FIFA and football shows full solidarity to victims of racism and any form of discrimination. Once and for all: No to racism! No to any form of discrimination! The events that took place in Udine and Sheffield on Saturday are totally abhorrent and completely unacceptable. The players affected by Saturday’s events have my undivided support. We need ALL the relevant stakeholders to take action, starting with education in schools so that future generations understand that this is not part of football or society,” he added.

In Serie A, AC Milan players walked off the pitch for a brief period of time after their French goalkeeper Mike Maignan alleged that Udinese fans made monkey noises in stands. In EFL, Coventry manager reported that mid-fielder Kasey Palmer was subjected to an racist gesture by a fan in dying moments of the game against Sheffield Wednesday.&nbsp;

For the games, Milan returned to play after five minutes and went on to win the match 3-2. Coventry, on the other hand, were already 2-1 ahead at the time of the incident and the score stayed the same.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has called for an automatic forfeit of games for the teams whose fans indulge in racism acts during the play in various leagues such as Italian Serie A, English Premier League (EPL) and Spanish La Liga.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has called for an automatic forfeit of games for the teams whose fans indulge in racism acts during the play in various leagues such as Italian Serie A, English Premier League (EPL) and Spanish La Liga. He shared the thoughts after two separate incidents of racisms on Saturday (January 20) which included Serie A and English Football League (EFL) or the Championship. “As well as the three-step process (match stopped, match re-stopped, match abandoned), we have to implement an automatic forfeit for the team whose fans have committed racism and caused the match to be abandoned, as well as worldwide stadium bans and criminal charges for racists,” said Infantino via a FIFA post on X. Also Read: Australian Open: Novak Djokovic equals Roger Federer's record with fourth round win “FIFA and football shows full solidarity to victims of racism and any form of discrimination. Once and for all: No to racism! No to any form of discrimination! The events that took place in Udine and Sheffield on Saturday are totally abhorrent and completely unacceptable. The players affected by Saturday’s events have my undivided support. We need ALL the relevant stakeholders to take action, starting with education in schools so that future generations understand that this is not part of football or society,” he added. In Serie A, AC Milan players walked off the pitch for a brief period of time after their French goalkeeper Mike Maignan alleged that Udinese fans made monkey noises in stands. In EFL, Coventry manager reported that mid-fielder Kasey Palmer was subjected to an racist gesture by a fan in dying moments of the game against Sheffield Wednesday. For the games, Milan returned to play after five minutes and went on to win the match 3-2. Coventry, on the other hand, were already 2-1 ahead at the time of the incident and the score stayed the same.

FIFA chief calls for automatic forfeit of games for teams whose fans get involved in racism during games

The Brazil versus Argentina 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier match made heads turn for all the wrong reasons. The match saw an interrupted start after&nbsp;the crowd got violent and the situation soon became out of control. As a result, the Brazilian cops&nbsp;charged Argentinian fans for&nbsp;fighting in the stands during the national anthems and&nbsp;severely hit them.

It turned from bad to worse as&nbsp;a&nbsp;bloodied fan was&nbsp;stretched off. Seats were being ripped off the stands and thrown at the police officials whereas some of the Argentina supporters ran onto the ground for safety.&nbsp;Later, Rio police&nbsp;arrested eight people following the crowd trouble.

After the game, which Argentina won 1-0, skipper Lionel Messi reacted to the unfortunate incident and wrote on Instagram, "Great victory in the Maracaná although it will be marked by the repression of the Argentinians once again in Brazil. This can't be tolerated it's insane and it needs to end now!!"

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Now, FIFA chief&nbsp;Gianni Infantino has also&nbsp;condemned the violence which broke out&nbsp;at the iconic Maracana Stadium&nbsp;in Rio de Janeiro&nbsp;on Wednesday.&nbsp;

"Without exception, all players, fans, staff and managers need to be safe and protected to play and enjoy football and I urge the competent authorities to ensure this is respected at all levels," Infantino said in a statement.

Messi, in particular, severely criticised the act of the Brazilian police and accused them of brutality. "It was bad because we saw how they were beating people ... The police, as it already happened in the Libertadores final, were once again repressing the people with nightsticks, there were players who had families over there," the Ballon d'Or 2023 winner&nbsp;stated during a pitch-side television interview.

A heated argument also broke out between Messi and Brazil's Rodrygo prior to the start of&nbsp;the game. After the win, Argentina players celebrated the result with the fans and the victory lap lasted for nearly 10 minutes.

The Brazil versus Argentina 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier match made heads turn for all the wrong reasons. The match saw an interrupted start after the crowd got violent and the situation soon became out of control.

The Brazil versus Argentina 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier match made heads turn for all the wrong reasons. The match saw an interrupted start after the crowd got violent and the situation soon became out of control. As a result, the Brazilian cops charged Argentinian fans for fighting in the stands during the national anthems and severely hit them. It turned from bad to worse as a bloodied fan was stretched off. Seats were being ripped off the stands and thrown at the police officials whereas some of the Argentina supporters ran onto the ground for safety. Later, Rio police arrested eight people following the crowd trouble. After the game, which Argentina won 1-0, skipper Lionel Messi reacted to the unfortunate incident and wrote on Instagram, "Great victory in the Maracaná although it will be marked by the repression of the Argentinians once again in Brazil. This can't be tolerated it's insane and it needs to end now!!" Also read: 'Can't be tolerated': Messi comes in support of Argentina fans following crowd trouble in WC qualifier Now, FIFA chief Gianni Infantino has also condemned the violence which broke out at the iconic Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday. "Without exception, all players, fans, staff and managers need to be safe and protected to play and enjoy football and I urge the competent authorities to ensure this is respected at all levels," Infantino said in a statement. Messi, in particular, severely criticised the act of the Brazilian police and accused them of brutality. "It was bad because we saw how they were beating people ... The police, as it already happened in the Libertadores final, were once again repressing the people with nightsticks, there were players who had families over there," the Ballon d'Or 2023 winner stated during a pitch-side television interview. A heated argument also broke out between Messi and Brazil's Rodrygo prior to the start of the game. After the win, Argentina players celebrated the result with the fans and the victory lap lasted for nearly 10 minutes.

FIFA chief condemns violence during Brazil vs Argentina WC qualifier after Messi slammed police for brutality

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has urged Italian soccer authorities to hand out stadium bans for supporters guilty of racism after another incident in a Serie A match between Atalanta and Fiorentina on Sunday.

Play was briefly suspended after Fiore’s Brazilian wing-back Dalbert reportedly told referee Daniele Orsato he had been the target of racist abuse from fans at the Stadio Ennio Tardini in Parma, where Atalanta are based while their ground is revamped.

An announcement was read over the stadium loudspeaker urging supporters to stop and the game, which finished 2-2, then continued, but Infantino believes the problem must be taken more seriously.

"Racism is combatted with education, condemnation and discussion," said the FIFA chief, who was a guest on a programme aired by Italian state broadcaster Rai.

"You can't have racism in society or in football. In Italy the situation hasn’t improved and this is serious.

“You need to identify those responsible and throw them out of the stadiums. You need, as in England, the certainty of the penalty. You can't be afraid to condemn racists, we need to combat them until they stop."

On Tuesday, Cagliari escaped punishment for alleged racist behaviour by their fans after monkey noises were heard being aimed at Inter Milan's Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has urged Italian soccer authorities to hand out stadium bans for supporters guilty of racism after another incident in a Serie A match between Atalanta and Fiorentina on Sunday.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has urged Italian soccer authorities to hand out stadium bans for supporters guilty of racism after another incident in a Serie A match between Atalanta and Fiorentina on Sunday. Play was briefly suspended after Fiore’s Brazilian wing-back Dalbert reportedly told referee Daniele Orsato he had been the target of racist abuse from fans at the Stadio Ennio Tardini in Parma, where Atalanta are based while their ground is revamped. An announcement was read over the stadium loudspeaker urging supporters to stop and the game, which finished 2-2, then continued, but Infantino believes the problem must be taken more seriously. "Racism is combatted with education, condemnation and discussion," said the FIFA chief, who was a guest on a programme aired by Italian state broadcaster Rai. "You can't have racism in society or in football. In Italy the situation hasn’t improved and this is serious. “You need to identify those responsible and throw them out of the stadiums. You need, as in England, the certainty of the penalty. You can't be afraid to condemn racists, we need to combat them until they stop." On Tuesday, Cagliari escaped punishment for alleged racist behaviour by their fans after monkey noises were heard being aimed at Inter Milan's Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku.

Time to punish racists, FIFA chief tells Italian football authorities

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FIFA chief calls for automatic forfeit of games for teams whose fans get involved in racism during games

FIFA chief condemns violence during Brazil vs Argentina WC qualifier after Messi slammed police for brutality

Time to punish racists, FIFA chief tells Italian football authorities