A man suspected of shouting racist abuse at AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan has been banned from all football stadiums in Italy for five years.
The 46-year-old was accused of directing abuse at Mignan 12 times during the team's Serie A match against Udinese on Saturday.
He is also said to be a known criminal in the province of Udine, Sky News understands.
In addition to the national sanction imposed by the Udinese Public Prosecutor's Office, Udinese banned the player from entering the Blunergy Stadium for life.
Police are searching CCTV and social media to try to identify any other people who may be involved.
Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantidosi described the chant as “abhorrent.”
Maignan protested to referee Fabio Maresca
The Milan players left the field after hearing the chants, with play suspended for approximately 10 minutes.
Maignan (28 years old) was born in French Guiana but grew up in Paris and plays for the French national team.
He was seen protesting to referee Fabio Maresca before taking off his gloves and leaving, and his teammates followed him as he went down the tunnel.
Minyan also reported to the referee about the alleged monkey chants earlier in the match, which led to an announcement at the stadium asking fans to stop.
“They made monkey noises and this is not the first time this has happened to me,” Minian told DAZN after the match.
Udinese pledged to identify the people who racially abused him.
Earlier this month, Lazio was punished with a partial closure of its stadium for one match due to racist chants directed at Roma striker Romelu Lukaku.
Read more:
Racist abuse in football should result in 'automatic loss of the match'
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Casey Palmer from Coventry reported racist abuse
Coventry City player Casey Palmer said he was subjected to racist abuse at Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday.
The incident happened during their 2-1 win in the Sky Bet Championship at Hillsborough.
On Wednesday, she called the alleged abuse “abhorrent and completely unacceptable” and is working with police to identify those responsible.
