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: Palermo were relegated from Serie A after losing 1-0 to Fiorentina from former player Luca Toni's goal on Sunday. The result left the Sicilian side five points behind 17th-place Genoa, which drew 0-0 at home to Inter Milan. With one round remaining, Torino also secured safety with a 1-1 draw at Chievo Verona. It is six points above Palermo. Genoa's result meant Siena was also relegated, without kicking a...
08:21 AM, May 13, 2013
Rio de Janeiro: Uruguay international striker Diego Forlan has lambasted former club Inter Milan, claiming he was made to feel like an outcast by the Italian Serie A outfit. The 33-year-old, who joined Inter from Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2011, managed just two goals from 18 matches in a forgettable season at the San Siro, reports Xinhua. He said his requests to say goodbye to the club were...
03:00 PM, May 12, 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: Inter Milan president Massimo Moratti has been fined 20,000 euros for accusing referees of purposefully harming his football team. He made the shocking statements after a 3-4 home defeat to Atalanta when a penalty was awarded for a non-existent handling offence, reports Xinhua. "I no longer believe in the good faith of the referees," Moratti claimed. The Italian Serie A Disciplinary Commission announced Thursday evening it had reviewed the...
01:50 PM, May 03, 2013
Barcelona: Bayern Munich's stunning 7-0 aggregate victory over Barcelona in the semi-finals of the Champions League will count for nothing if they do not go on to win the competition at Wembley later this month, Arjen Robben said on Wednesday. "We said immediately after the game 'now we need to win it'," Robben, who curled home Bayern's first in the 3-0 win at the Nou Camp on Wednesday, said in...
08:30 AM, May 02, 2013
