Troy Townsend calls for clarity from Gianni Infantino over plans to combat racist abuse from fans

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Kick It Out head of player engagement Troy Townsend spoke about two incidents of racism that happened in European football yesterday.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has called for the implementation of an automatic forfeit of games for teams whose fans commit racist abuse after the “totally abhorrent” incidents at Udinese and Sheffield Wednesday.

AC Milan’s players walked off the pitch after France international goalkeeper Mike Maignan reportedly heard monkey noises coming from a section of the crowd at the Stadio Friuli.

Coventry’s Kasey Palmer said he received similar abuse at Hillsborough and their 2-1 win was stopped for several minutes while the match officials spoke to both managers.

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I those disappointing scenes in Italy and Sheffield yesterday AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Manion and the commentry midfielder Casey Palmer were subjected to racist abuse now kick it out head of player engagement Troy townzen joins us live now Troy thank you for your time sorry it’s h it’s this subject again

What was your reaction to yesterday’s events both home and abroad it was very much here we go again Tom um it’s very much you know having worked in this space as long as What I’ve Done we’ve never effectively dealt with these incidents so we’ve allowed the kind of the two incidents that

Happened yesterday we’ve allowed them to continue year on year season on season you know decade on decade if you want me to say that disappoint very disappointing because I know Casey Palmer’s family um so you know making calls to them last night to make sure that Casey was okay I thought his

Statement that he put out was absolutely superb talking about his children uh for Mike Manion it’s it’s the same it’s the the the emotional and mental impact that the abuse has on you which I don’t think gets taken into account enough and we have to understand and realize that you know footballers are

Put on this platform like they’re Untouchable but these moments create doubt in their mind these moments create you know why me situations and yeah pretty horrendous again but seems to be Pa of the course season on season and you mentioned that you you’ve spoken to

To Casey Palmer’s f to see how he is I mean how is he he’s never experienced anything like this before Tom so I’d imagine he’s living in a little bit of a roller coaster you know a little bit overwhelmed a little bit like why me again I’m just looking at the footage

Now that you’re showing and I I felt that Casey had to convince the referee that an incident had happened unfortunately you know you can kind of tell with the way that he was speaking in his reactions that he’d he’d been abused and I I I I know it’s difficult for

Officials but we’ve got to pick up on these incidents quick enough we’ve got to have the security around picking up on these incidents it’s it’s on the screen now people know I’m expecting that there may be an arrest soon I would hope um and that the individual who

Quite clearly his actions have been shown um you know on social media and right across the football environment I would imagine to face a strongest possible kind of sanction but the more importantly is that you know cases at home family now which is amazing because that’s the support that he needs but

They’ve got to visit hillsbor again on Friday and for me that’s how is he going to feel going back into that environment knowing that at the end of a fixture he was targeted with racism by the very said same fans that he’s going to be playing against in on on Friday yeah i’

Actually completely bypassed me that he he was going back there on on Friday as for AC Milan Mike Manion he left the pitch the the players followed him off the pitch so did some of the opposition players players as well do you support that course of

Action been calling for it for a long long time you know players have to take these matters in their own hands if the authorities are not going to level the right and appropriate kind of sanctions and actions or you know immediately then for Mike Manion it’s it’s massively

Important that he you know looks after himself I’m really pleased with the support from his teammates I’m really pleased like you’ve just said there that some of you know udy players it’s not the udy players Fault by the way but I’m really pleased they chose the same

Action um and I think that they’ve now applied pressure you know we’ve heard Infantino come out this morning and talk about you know what he would like to happen well unfortunately he’s the one that has the power in his hands where we shouldn’t be in a situation where

Players have to walk off the field of play so I’ll be we will be watching very carefully around what happens next from FIFA and hopefully they kind of appropriate that worldwide because you know these incidents are not isol as we know and they’re not just in Italy they’re not just in England

Unfortunately we’re hearing them a lot right around the world and something needs to give now and for for those who haven’t heard what the FIFA president Johnny Infantino has said he’s called for an automatic forfeit for teams whose fans commit offenses do you agree with that as a deterrent and like you say

He’s the one with the power to actually like take actions here well it’s it’s effectively points deductions isn’t it it’s effectively a let’s say that that club wins the game um the fan base is uh you know chosen to you know Target a player uh they lose the points but what

About if a club doesn’t win the game so you say forfeit forfeit I think he needs to delve into his fa process and give some real clear uh Clarity on what he would like to see and like I said they’ve had the opportunity to deal with

This a long long time ago FIFA UEFA put in a three-step protocol you know giving people an opportunity fre time times to racially abuse players on the field of play that’s not appropriate so they’ve got to talk to players as well you know venicius Jr is someone who obviously has

Experienced this on a number of occasions and they said that they’re working with him so this is a point where actually working with players like that to understand the impact of the abuse what it does emotionally the trauma that the players go through Manion said that the first time it

Happened he ignored it because he wanted to get on with the game the second time it happened was enough and he and and he walked you know told the official and walked didn’t wait for any kind of hold on a minute he walked and he walked with with the confidence that his players

Were going to go with him and for me that kind of footage and image and the Casey Palmer footage and image should be rever reverberating around the football environment now football looks at itself and says what are we going to do and does it it put unnecessary pressure on

The players and it had to be out in AC at AC Milan Mike Manion was the one who chose to walk off the pitch with his teammates why is it down to the players to make that decision and it surely it’s unfair on them when they’re just doing

Their jobs because there’s not a fit f fit and proper process it’s as simple as that there’s not a fit and proper process to protect them in their workplace environment which is the field of play uh the sanctions that have been administered at the moment you know we

Kind of laugh at them we kind of here we go again so yes it is a pressured environment because the whole focus is on Manion But ultimately he’s made the decision to protect himself and ultimately protect his teammates you know these again in Italy these are not isolated incidents he’s not the first

Player to have walked off the field of play but we must app applaud players who take those actions because the actions of the the sanctioning bodies the federations and the and the world governing body are not enough to protect them and so doing that it is a lot of

Pressure but I absolutely applaud and commend him for doing that and looking after his space Troy thanks again for coming on again apologies for the circumstances no worries I appreciate it Tom always a pleasure well just going to talk to to Darren and Dean a little bit more on on

This one and I don’t know in Troy made some really good points there about the emotional toil that that will have on those players and he talked about having spoken to Casey Palmer’s uh Palmer’s family and the the the toll it takes on them as well I don’t know in your career

If you’ve ever had a teammate who’s been subjected to something like that and how they’ve dealt with it how hard is for them and how how the teammates can rally around I don’t because I I I don’t feel as if they had the platform to be able

To do that and and speak out when it when it happened um that is the case now but it shouldn’t it shouldn’t be the case that the players have to take it upon themselves and the toll that that must take on on them um you obviously spoke there about the fact that Casey

Palmer this is the you know first time something like this has happened to him and and of course I bet it comes as a as a an incredible shock cuz he he’s not expecting to go and do his job and and have the color of his skin be a factor

In in what an opposition supports um say to him and like I said for one minute I can’t imagine what it must be like for for these players and I think the fact that there isn’t anything in place and the fact that I think there probably is

A a massive lack of representation at the very top um of of of football and the governing body shows that they still don’t understand it they still don’t get it they still it feels like don’t see it as a as a serious enough issue and that’s a big worry so if this suddenly

Doesn’t show and again um you know spoke there about the fact that here we go again it does feel as if every season something like like this happens again and you wonder when when when does it come to a point where the authorities actually do something and Darren another good point

From Troy that like I said had bypass me is that centry go away to Sheffield Wednesday this time in the FA Cup in Friday night so only 6 days after this incident that’ll still be fresh in Casey Palmer’s mind I know it’s hard for us to

Put ourselves in his shoes but I mean that’s the the the scene of the alleged crime that he’s got to go back to six days later can you see him actually playing in that game U it’s solely down to him um he will be speaking to his

Manager his family whether he wants to do that no one will say anything negative if he decided not to I’m sure he will um but like Dean said we we cannot sit here as three white men and understand what it feels like to to be abused because of the color of your skin

We don’t know what that feels like I don’t know what’s going through Casey Palmer’s head at the moment so all you’d say is some people say go and play ignore it don’t let them win it shouldn’t be a factor it shouldn’t be happening players walking off create cting this these headlines creating the

The entertainment has to stop forfeits uh points deductions the the strongest possible measures need to be put into place otherwise as Troy said and Troy does a fantastic job it it’s it’s the same thing year after year decade after decade it’s not changing something needs to happen to make a real statement and

Whether that is a team walking off and not coming back back on and forfeit in that game that that’s what it needs to happen