AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan and Coventry City midfielder Kasey Palmer both paused their respective games last Saturday after they were subjected to racist gestures and shouts from the stands. Maignan and his team walked off the pitched before coming back and resuming the match. Football’s racism problem was again in the headlines.

In what seemed like a hardline solution, Gianni Infantino, the head of Fifa, the sports governing body, called for match forfeits after racist incidents.

Sports writer and Second Captains podcaster and Irish Times soccer columnist Ken Early explains why this idea is simply unworkable, for reasons that extend beyond the stands. Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey.

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