Sanity has prevailed in Italian football, after the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) opted not to punish Kevin-Prince Boateng for his stand against racism.
AC Milan star Boateng walked off the field, followed by his team-mates, after receiving racist abuse during a friendly match against fourth-tier side Pro Patria at the beginning of January.
Incredibly, it seemed up for debate as to whether or not Boateng should be censured for illegally leaving the field of play.
However, the incident appears to have struck a chord in Italian football, where racism has been rampant for so long.
FIGC president Giancarlo Abete said last week that Italian football was "prepared to suspend games on a temporary or permanent basis to fight racist abuse."
And on Tuesday, the FIGC’s Disciplinary Commission confirmed that Boateng would not be punished.
They said that despite the fact that it is technically illegal for a player or team to cut short a match of their own accord, to charge Boateng would have been fundamentally unjust, considering the racism he had reacted to.
"In the current rules no regulation allows for a team to interrupt a match and abandon the pitch if not in accordance with the decisions of the referee,” a FIGC statement read.
"However, the essential values that inform the sport and civilised society mean we cannot discipline a gesture of solidarity towards a man who was victim to crass insults exclusively targeted at the colour of his skin."
