Udinese have been ordered to play one home match behind closed doors after AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan received racial abuse from the crowd during a Serie A game at the Bluenergy Stadium last weekend.
No fans will be permitted to attend Udinese's next home fixture against Monza in the Italian top-flight on February 3 following a one-game stadium ban handed down on Tuesday by Gerardo Mastrandrea, the national sports judge of Serie A.
Per the Press Association, Udinese's active stance and willingness right from the start to identify those responsible for the abuse led to the minimum sanction being imposed.
France goalkeeper Maignan alleged that he was subject to repeated racist abuse from the stands during the first half of Saturday's Serie A game against Udinese, with AC Milan's players then walking off the pitch leading to the game being suspended for 10 minutes.
Maignan subsequently received an outpouring of support from across the football world as he called for swift action to be taken, having previously been targeted by abuse from a Juventus fan back in 2021.
On Monday, Udinese said following collaboration with local police that they had identified one of the perpetrators responsible for the vile abuse of Maignan and vowed to hand them an immediate lifetime ban from the club's matches.
"Udinese Calcio has identified the first individual responsible for discriminatory behaviour towards AC Milan player Mike Maignan," Udinese said in a statement.
"This person will face a lifetime ban from attending any Udinese Calcio matches. This ban is effective immediately.
"We believe that such strong measures are necessary to send a clear message that racism has no place in football or society... we will continue to work tirelessly in order to identify and punish other individuals who were involved in this incident."
