In light of the “totally abhorrent” occurrences at Udinese and Sheffield Wednesday, FIFA President Gianni Infantino has called for the automatic forfeiture of games for teams whose supporters engage in racist acts.

The players of AC Milan left the ground after France international keeper Mike Maignan claimed to have heard monkey noises emanating from a particular area of the Stadio Friuli crowd.

The Coventry 2-1 victory was halted for a few minutes as the match officials consulted with the managers, according to Kasey Palmer, who claimed to have experienced similar mistreatment at Hillsborough.

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After an extended period, Milan’s players made a comeback to win 3-2, but Infantino insisted that the penalties need to be more severe.

He said in a FIFA post on X: “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.

“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.”