Manchester United vs Partizan: Harry Maguire asks for no repeat of ‘sickening’ racist abuse
Partizan handed two-match stadium sanction for racist abuse earlier this season
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Harry Maguire hopes to avoid experiencing another evening of “sickening” racist abuse when Manchester United play away from home against Partizan Belgrade in the Europa League on Thursday night.
Maguire was part of the England team which last week considered walking off the pitch after black players were abused while playing a European Championship qualifier against Bulgaria in Sofia.
Partizan were handed a two-match stadium sanction by Uefa earlier this season due to the racist behaviour of their supporters during a match against Turkey’s Yeni Malatyaspor.
A subsequent play-off round tie with Molde was played behind closed doors, while Partizan invited 22,000 schoolchildren to watch last month’s 2-2 draw with AZ Alkmaar in Group L.
Partizan manager Savo Milosevic is confident there will be no repeat of the racist behaviour in Belgrade on Thursday night, though Maguire and his team-mates are ready to follow Uefa’s three-step racism protocol if any player is targeted.
“We will trust Uefa to follow their protocol with the three steps,” the defender said. “Obviously Sofia was a sickening atmosphere, it was something I don’t want to be part of again.
“We’re positive tomorrow night will be a great atmosphere, one we’re all looking forward to playing in. If something does goes off then we’ll follow the three step protocol and I’m sure there will be people on and off the pitch doing their bit to make things better for the future.”
Uefa’s three-step protocol for handling racist incidents inside stadiums initially involves an announcement being read over the public address system, insisting that the behaviour stop immediately.
If it continues, the referee may suspend the match for a short period of time – usually 10 to 15 minutes – and send the two teams to their respective dressing rooms. If racist behaviour still has not stopped, the match can be abandoned.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the United manager, has spoken with his players about the procedure since England’s experience in Sofia and is prepared to follow it through, despite hoping that there will be no cause to act.
“I believe in people and I’m sure the atmosphere here will be fantastic,” Solskjaer said. “We’ll try and keep them quiet by playing good football. We trust Uefa and as Savo said, hopefully it’s a celebration of good football.
“We’ve spoken in general on subjects but of course Harry and Marcus [Rashford] who were in Bulgaria, they were freer to talk about the atmosphere, how it was, what we can expect, what’s the worse cast scenario.”
On Tuesday, United handed an indefinite ban to one supporter who allegedly racially abused Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold during Sunday’s 1-1 Premier League draw at Old Trafford.
“I’m happy the club have identified ... yeah, what do you want to call him,” Solskjaer said regarding the fan. “It’s something we feel strongly about and are going to stamp down on as much as we can.”
United sit second in Group L after two games, having beaten Kazakhstan’s Astana at home and drawn with AZ Alkmaar away. Partizan top the group on goals scored.
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