AC Milan players Fikayo Tomori and Mike Maignan both claimed they were racially abused after their team's 1-0 Serie A win against Cagliari on Saturday evening.
Tomori and Maignan allegedly received abuse from home supporters following the full-time whistle. Maignan put his fingers to his ears as the incident was unfolding. The two sets of players also clashed on the pitch once Milan's victory was confirmed.
Both Milan stars reported the incident to the club's hierarchy and have referenced it on social media. The Serie A leaders have released a statement condemning the alleged abuse and manager Stefano Pioli has expressed his disappointment.
"Mike told me there was some abuse from behind the goal," said Pioli. "Tomori also told me the same thing. It's always sad when these things happen, nobody deserves that."
In February 2020, three Cagliari fans were banned for life for alleged racist abuse. Milan added: "This Serie A matchday was dedicated to the stand against racism, but there's still a long road ahead and we must keep on fighting together."
Tomori came through the ranks at Chelsea before joining Milan in January 2021. He's spent time on loan at Brighton, Hull and Derby and has two senior caps for England. The 24-year-old has previously suffered racist abuse during his playing career.
Maignan was part of the Lille team that won Ligue 1 last season and has one senior cap for France. He was part of his country's squad for Euro 2020 and the Nations League finals last October, picking up a winners' medal in the latter tournament.
"It is too easy for people to do that," said Tomori in February 2021 while discussing online racism. "Being able to identify someone who is doing these wrong things and punish them, make an example of them, is only going to help.
"If someone robs a bank you know they're punished. If someone is racist, they should be punished so those kinds of steps need to be made... it's disgusting when you see these kinds of things. You know it's 2021 now and things like this are still going on over football.
"For it to happen it's kind of confusing and I think that there needs to be more to really stamp it out... in the future we will probably speak about it again because of the nature of the world and social media. It is really hard to wrap our heads around."
Milan have a great chance of winning their first Serie A title since 2011. They're currently three points clear of Napoli in second with eight league fixtures remaining. Inter Milan are also in the hunt. Cagliari, meanwhile, are just three points above the relegation zone.
Piolo's team includes former Arsenal and Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud, 35, and legendary Swede Zlatan Ibrahimovic, 40. The two veterans have scored 16 league goals between them this season. Former Manchester City youngster Brahim Diaz is also on their books.
