Platini hails Boateng's leaving field due to fans’ racist conduct

PanARMENIAN.Net - UEFA President Michel Platini has emphasized how match referees can act in the event of racist incidents at UEFA matches – including ending the match – in line with UEFA Executive Committee guidelines, UEFA official website reported.

UEFA President Michel Platini has highlighted the measures that match referees are allowed to take in the event of racist incidents at UEFA matches – including the empowerment to stop a match definitively.

Speaking on the French radio station RTL, Mr Platini also welcomed AC Milan's Ghanian midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng's move to leave the field of play as a result of racist conduct by opposing supporters at a friendly match earlier this month. Boateng was followed by his team-mates, and the match was abandoned.

"We have put rules in place with the referees in the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League," Mr Platini explained. UEFA was the first football body to give match officials guidelines on what steps to take in the event of racist abuse during matches. In July 2009, the UEFA Executive Committee approved guidelines for match officials to deal with racist incidents in stadiums, which gave referees the power to abandon matches in serious cases,” he said.