The statements of the Rossoneri goalkeeper following the incident in Udine, along with the subsequent suspension of the match.
The challenge between Udinese and Milan was “stained” by the Maignan incident, with the Rossoneri goalkeeper being subjected to racist insults from someone in the Udinese stands. Maignan then recounted the episode to Dazn’s microphones immediately after the end of the match:
“We won, and that’s positive, but something happened in the first half that shouldn’t happen. They made monkey gestures against me; it’s not the first time it has happened. I had to leave the field; you have to do that to make the referee understand the situation and to make statements to the Prosecutor. I didn’t want to play anymore, but we are a family, and I didn’t want to leave my teammates when they needed me. The situation got calm, and I decided to stay.
Maignan and Ibrahimovic’s words
Maignan mentioned that he had a brief conversation with Ibrahimovic after what happened: “He told me to stay strong in my mind, to give the right response, and win the game.” The goalkeeper then continued, “We are a family here, I felt everyone’s support. We are here to play football, to give everything for our fans, to entertain. I was also sorry to go to the locker room like that, but I had everyone’s support. We talked, and we decided to go back on the field to give the right response.”
