Florence: Italy must adopt a zero tolerance policy towards racism in football if they are to eradicate the problem from the sport, national team coach Cesare Prandelli said on Monday. A number of Italian clubs have been punished for racist incidents recently.
"It is a serious problem, a problem that is not only the national team's or Milan's but Italian football's," Prandelli said. "If we want to be credible on a European and worldwide level, we can't tolerate anything anymore. It starts with a 'boo' and then you don't know where it will go. It is a long path, but you have to make it clear to everyone how they have to behave."
AC Milan forward Mario Balotelli has said he will walk off the field the next time he is racially abused, following the example of strike partner Kevin-Prince Boateng, who led his team-mates off the pitch when he was racially abused during an exhibition game against an Italian fourth-tier side in January.
"It's never happened in the national team but we would be the first to go onto the pitch and embrace him so he wouldn't go off," Prandelli said....
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09:15 AM, May 21, 2013
Milan: Veteran AC Milan goalkeeper Christian Abbiati has signed a one-year contract extension with the Serie A club. Abbiati's contract was set to expire next month but he agreed to a new deal tying him to the club until June 2014. Abbiati says "I've signed for a year and that's the club's policy, but I am happy to start another season with Milan which is my family." Abbiati, who turns...
08:19 PM, May 20, 2013
Fiorentina's players and officials were furious after being deprived of a place in the Champions League playoff by two late goals from AC Milan on Sunday, who clinched third place in Serie A and qualified at their expense. Milan, needing to beat relegated Siena to hold on to third spot, won 2-1 after equalising with a controversial penalty won and converted by Mario Balotelli before Philippe Mexes grabbed the winner....
02:34 PM, May 20, 2013
Milan: AC Milan secured third spot and a place in the Champions League after coming from behind to win 2-1 at Siena on Sunday in the final Serie A round of the season. Fiorentina crushed Pescara 5-1 but remained in fourth spot and will play in the Europa League next season. Mario Balotelli leveled for Milan after they were contentiously awarded penalty six minutes from fulltime, and Philippe Mexes scored...
08:49 AM, May 20, 2013
Rome: Italian Referee's Association (AIA) president Marcello Nicchi has said that Mario Balotelli will be sent off if he were to leave the field to protest racist chanting. "Everyone is free to express their own opinions but there are rules. Whoever leaves the field to make a protest, without warning the referee or without being substituted will be sent off," Nicchi told Italian news channel SkyTG24 on Friday. "Less importance...
05:27 PM, May 17, 2013
Rome: In the last weekend of Serie A, AC Milan need to protect a two-point lead over Fiorentina in the race for third place and a final Champions League berth. Milan and Fiorentina both visit relegated squads - Siena and Pescara, respectively. Nearly everything else in the Italian league has been decided, although several big coaching changes could come as soon as the season ends. Juventus clinched its 29th title...
11:05 AM, May 17, 2013
FIFA president Sepp Blatter has criticised the 50,000 euro ($64,850) fine handed to AS Roma for racist behaviour by their fans, describing the sanction as too weak and unacceptable. Blatter said he would call the Italian football federation, who he said had not been thorough enough in investigating Sunday's incident in the match at AC Milan. "What is surprising and is not understandable for me, is that the disciplinary committee...
06:51 PM, May 14, 2013
AC Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri condemned Italian soccer culture as backward on Sunday after his team's match at home against AS Roma was interrupted by racist chanting from fans. Allegri also criticised the interruption, during which warnings were broadcast to the fans over the public address system, as an unsuccessful compromise and said that forward Mario Balotelli was being increasingly taunted by racist abuse. "People should go to the stadium...
01:12 PM, May 13, 2013
Milan: Although the title has already been secured by Juventus, there is still much to play for at both ends of the Serie A table, with AC Milan and Fiorentina fighting for the final Champions League spot. Milan is in pole position to finish third and earn a place in the Champions League qualifiers, as it is four points ahead of Fiorentina with three rounds remaining. Milan visits already-relegated Pescara...
12:10 PM, May 07, 2013
Milan: Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba has been handed a three-match ban for spitting at an opponent. Pogba was sent off in Sunday's 1-0 win over Palermo - which secured Juventus' second successive Serie A title - after he spat at Salvatore Aronica. The incident occurred seven minutes from full time. Pogba has impressed this season after moving from Manchester United on a free transfer in the summer. Under Monday's ruling,...
06:08 PM, May 06, 2013
Milan: AC Milan head coach Massimiliano Allegri insists that he hoped to stay at the club but the final word rests with owner Silvio Berlusconi. Allegri has been the focus of speculation about his destination of next season, reports Xinhua. "I hope to remain at Milan but it depends on president Berlusconi. He has the final word. I have always had a good rapport with the president regardless of what...
11:51 AM, May 06, 2013
Milan: Fiorentina's Champions League hopes diminished as a late goal meant it lost 1-0 at home to Roma in the Serie A on Saturday, in a match where it hit the woodwork twice. Former Fiorentina striker Pablo Daniel Osvaldo, who scored a hat trick in last weekend's 4-0 win against Siena, headed in a corner in stoppage time. The result left Fiorentina one point behind AC Milan in the race...
09:28 AM, May 05, 2013
Rome: AC Milan have denied local media reports that manager Massimiliano Allegri will be moving to AS Roma at the end of the season. "AC Milan categorically denies what was published today in the pages of the Corriere della Sera regarding its manager Massimiliano Allegri," the club said on their website (www.acmilan.com) on Saturday. Milan-based daily Corriere della Sera said Allegri had accepted a three-year contract to move to the...
04:58 PM, May 04, 2013
Milan: AC Milan striker Mario Balotelli has complained that Serie A match officials are too harsh on him. The Italy international returned from suspension in the 4-2 win over Catania at San Siro Sunday. He had been banned for verbally abusing an assistant referee in the 2-2 draw at Fiorentina in early April. He was booked in the 72nd minute for reacting angrily when what he perceived to be a...
02:32 PM, Apr 30, 2013
Rio de Janeiro: Brazil's top-flight football club Botafogo have denied that their star midfielder Clarence Seedorf could return to Italian outfit AC Milan next season as coach. The 37-year-old is reportedly top on Milan president Silvio Berlusconi's list to replace under-pressure Massimiliano Allegri next season, reports Xinhua. "If he is able to be a Botafogo player and coach Milan at the same time, he can go. But I really need...
12:50 PM, Apr 28, 2013
Rome: Juventus have been fined 30,000 euro because a section of their fans were heard chanting racist abuse during Sunday's match against AC Milan. Some of the Bianconeri supporters were seen directing racial chants at AC Milan footballer Kevin-Prince Boateng during the Serie A clash, reports Xinhua. It is not the first time the midfielder has been subjected to such abuse this season. Earlier in the campaign during a friendly...
02:40 PM, Apr 23, 2013
Milan: AC Milan manager Massimiliano Allegri has said that his team must not feel any pressure after Fiorentina closed the gap to them to just one point. Rossoneri suffered a 0-1 defeat at the hands of Juventus, their first one of 2013, and remained third in the standings, with only one point clear of Fiorentina, reports Xinhua. "The lads put in a good performance, allowing little and controlling the ball,"...
02:26 PM, Apr 22, 2013
Milan: Juventus head coach Antonio Conte claimed that his side's 1-0 win over AC Milan on Sunday night as a big step forward toward their second consecutive Serie A football title. Thanks to the win at home, the Bianconeri need only four points from the remaining five rounds to secure the title, reports Xinhua. "Milan were unbeaten in the second half of the season and we travelling up the table....
02:15 PM, Apr 22, 2013
Rome: Juventus edged AC Milan 1-0 with a second-half penalty in a marquee Serie A matchup Sunday that left the Rossoneri's hold on a Champions League berth dangerously loose. Arturo Vidal converted from the spot in the 57th minute after Milan's reserve goalkeeper Marco Amelia tripped Kwadwo Asamoah. Amelia replaced Christian Abbiati in the 15th after the starter was injured. Milan, who was without suspended Mario Balotelli, hardly threatened. Cruising...
09:00 AM, Apr 22, 2013
Rome: AC Milan striker Mario Balotelli will miss Sunday's top of the table clash at Juventus despite having his three-match suspension cut to two games. "The Federal Court of Justice has partially upheld an appeal by Milan and reduces the matches Mario Balotelli is banned for by three to two games, adding a fine of 20,000 euros in exchange for the third match," the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) said on...
10:30 PM, Apr 19, 2013
