Following a string of racist incidents, FIFA's president called for “automatic forfeits” for teams whose fans make racist comments

Last May, Spanish police arrested fans for directing racial slurs at Vinicius Jr, a black Brazilian winger who plays for Real Madrid

“Racism is normal in La Liga [Spain’s domestic soccer league],” Vinicius said following that match, prompting Spain’s soccer league to admit that soccer “has a problem” with racism

On Saturday, the goalkeeper of Italian club AC Milan, Mike Maignan, complained about fans making monkey noises at him

Maignan, who is black, spoke with a ref early in the match, prompting stadium officials to ask fans to stop such behavior

Yet following further fan abuse, Maignan walked off the pitch, followed by the rest of his teammates

Maignan returned to the pitch a few minutes later, and AC Milan went on to win 3-2

“They made monkey noises and it's not the first time it's happened to me,” the 28-year-old goalkeeper said following the match

“I was upset to have to go into the changing room like that but I had everyone's support,” he said. “We talked and we made the decision to go back out onto the field…and win this game”

Also on Saturday, a midfielder for England’s Coventry City club accused fans of an opposing team of directing racial slurs at him

A referee spoke with managers from both clubs, causing a delay in play

English police later launched an investigation to identify those responsible for the alleged abuse

Following those incidents, FIFA President Gianni Infantino called for an “automatic forfeit” rule for teams whose fans exhibit racist behavior

“The events that took place in [Italy] and [England] on Saturday are totally abhorrent," he said, adding that victims of such abuse have FIFA’s “undivided support”

FIFA does not have the authority to institute such rules, but its opinions often carry great weight

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