AC MILAN CAME back from a goal down to beat Udinese 3-2 on Saturday in a match which was briefly suspended for Mike Maignan being racially abused by home fans.
Stefano Pioli’s side are six points behind league leaders Inter Milan in third place after Noah Okafor poked home the winner in the third minute of stoppage time.
But the match was marred by monkey chanting directed at Maignan from a group of Udinese supporters which outraged the France goalkeeper.
Play was stopped late in the first half by referee Fabio Maresca after persistent racist abuse of Maignan, who stormed off the field alongside his teammates.
“There is absolutely no place in our game for racism: we are appalled. We are with you, Mike,” Milan wrote on social media.
The home crowd had previously been warned to stop the insults after Maignan had complained to Maresca, but they carried on and forced the officials to halt the match.
Play resumed after about five minutes, with Milan leading at that point thanks to Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s fine finish just after the half-hour mark.
Home supporters continued booing Maignan every time he received the ball, annoyed at his complaints which led to the game being temporarily stopped.
Three minutes before the break Lazar Samardzic levelled for the hosts by strolling through midfield and rifling home.
Florian Thuavin put the hosts in front in the 62nd minute after bundling past Tijjani Reijnders and Theo Hernandez and smashing home a shot just above Maignan’s head.
However Milan fought back and Luka Jovic drew the away side level with a poacher’s goal in the 83rd minute, nodding home after Olivier Giroud’s deflected strike bounced onto the goal line off the underside of the bar.
And Okafor sparked wild celebrations from the large Milan contingent in Udine when he stabbed in the winner and extended his team’s unbeaten run in the league to six matches.
Elsewhere, Bochum and Stuttgart’s Bundesliga match was delayed by 40 minutes after fans of the visiting side unfurled flags which blocked fire exits. Hosts Bochum eventually won 2-1.
The matches between Cologne and Dortmund, and Heidenheim and Wolfsburg, were also interrupted.
Fans threw chocolate coins wrapped in gold foil on the pitches in protest against the German FA’s decision to sell off a share of TV rights for increased foreign investment.
Meanwhile, Piero Hincapie scored in injury time to take Bayer Leverkusen to a battling 3-2 win at RB Leipzig on Saturday, extending their lead at the top of the table to seven points.
Kylian Mbappe grabbed two goals and a pair of assists as Paris Saint-Germain brushed past third-tier Orleans 4-1 on Saturday to reach the last 16 of the French Cup.
And in Italy, Daniele De Rossi got off to a winning start to life as Jose Mourinho’s successor at Roma after his boyhood club beat struggling Verona 2-1 at an emotional Stadio Olimpico.
First-half goals from Romelu Lukaku and Lorenzo Pellegrini were just enough for Roma, who are eighth in Serie A, to get past Verona and give De Rossi a tight debut win after taking over on Tuesday.
