Racial abuse: “Boateng was wrong to run away” – Blatter

Sepp Blatter has insisted that AC Milan’s midfielder, Kevin-Prince Boateng, was wrong to walk off the pitch after he was racially abused during at a friendly match against Italian fourth-tier side Pro Patria last week.

His team-mates showed support to the player, as they left the field with him as the abuse persisted.

The FIFA president, who was speaking in Dubai on a tour of the Middle East, called for stronger sanctions against racism, but stated that the former Tottenham Hotspur man should not have left the pitch.

“Walk off? No. I don’t think that is the solution,” Blatter said. “But the Italian federation have yet to provide FIFA with the report detailing what exactly has happened.

“I don’t think you can run away, because eventually you can run away if you lose a match.

“This issue is a very touchy subject, but I repeat there is zero tolerance of racism in the stadium; we have to go against that.

“The only solution is to be very harsh with the sanctions – and the sanctions must be a deduction of points or something similar.”

Boateng and other Milan players wore anti-racism t-shirts, before their Serie A game against Siena at the San Siro on Sunday.

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