Milan Players Racially Abused During Win at Cagliari, Says Pioli

AC Milan's Ismael Bennacer celebrates scoring their first goal with teammates. (Reuters)
AC Milan's Ismael Bennacer celebrates scoring their first goal with teammates. (Reuters)
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Milan Players Racially Abused During Win at Cagliari, Says Pioli

AC Milan's Ismael Bennacer celebrates scoring their first goal with teammates. (Reuters)
AC Milan's Ismael Bennacer celebrates scoring their first goal with teammates. (Reuters)

AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan and defender Fikayo Tomori were racially abused by Cagliari supporters during their 1-0 Serie A victory in Sardinia, manager Stefano Pioli said.

Maignan was closest to the Cagliari end and was celebrating with Tomori after the final whistle when they were allegedly subjected to racist abuse, which sparked a scuffle between players from both teams.

"This Serie A matchday was dedicated to the stand against racism, but there's still a long road ahead and we must keep on fighting together," Milan tweeted after the match.

Pioli said both Maignan and Tomori told him they received racist abuse from the crowd.

"Mike told me it was possible to hear some insults from behind the goal," Pioli told DAZN. "It's the first time he reacted like that, so something happened. Tomori also told me the same thing.

"It's always said when these things happen, nobody deserves that."

Cagliari striker Joao Pedro said he did not hear any racist abuse and defended the club's supporters.

"I didn't hear anything," he said. "That is a very delicate matter, but I was basically in midfield at the time.

"This is not a pleasant situation to talk about, but I have been here for eight years and I will defend the fans because I did not hear anything."



Bagnaia Wins Japanese Grand Prix Sprint after Leader Acosta Crashes

Ducati Lenovo Team rider Francesco Bagnaia of Italy (R) leads his teammate Enea Bastianini of Italy (L) during Tissot Sprint of the MotoGP Japanese Grand Prix at the Mobility Resort Motegi in Motegi, Tochigi prefecture on October 5, 2024. (AFP)
Ducati Lenovo Team rider Francesco Bagnaia of Italy (R) leads his teammate Enea Bastianini of Italy (L) during Tissot Sprint of the MotoGP Japanese Grand Prix at the Mobility Resort Motegi in Motegi, Tochigi prefecture on October 5, 2024. (AFP)
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Bagnaia Wins Japanese Grand Prix Sprint after Leader Acosta Crashes

Ducati Lenovo Team rider Francesco Bagnaia of Italy (R) leads his teammate Enea Bastianini of Italy (L) during Tissot Sprint of the MotoGP Japanese Grand Prix at the Mobility Resort Motegi in Motegi, Tochigi prefecture on October 5, 2024. (AFP)
Ducati Lenovo Team rider Francesco Bagnaia of Italy (R) leads his teammate Enea Bastianini of Italy (L) during Tissot Sprint of the MotoGP Japanese Grand Prix at the Mobility Resort Motegi in Motegi, Tochigi prefecture on October 5, 2024. (AFP)

Reigning champion Francesco Bagnaia won MotoGP's Japanese Grand Prix sprint on Saturday after leader Pedro Acosta crashed out with four laps to go, reducing his gap with championship leader Jorge Martin, who finished fourth, to 15 points.

Rookie Acosta, who took pole earlier in the day, had overtaken Bagnaia on the third lap to take the lead, but lost control near turn seven, losing the opportunity to win his first MotoGP sprint.

Ducati's Bagnaia, who moved to 357 points ahead of Sunday's race, fought off second-placed Enea Bastianini by 0.181 seconds amid occasional rains in Motegi to win his 16th sprint of the season.

"We had to sacrifice a bit of performance during the race to understand the conditions better... I'm very happy because with this condition it's not very easy to win," Bagnaia said in his post-sprint interview.

Pramac Racing's Martin, who started from the 11th position on the grid after crashing during the qualifying session, started well to take the fifth position in the first lap, facing pressure from Marc Marquez, who eventually overtook him.

Marquez momentarily took second place from Bastianini but the Ducati rider recovered to leave him third.

LCR Honda's Takaaki Nakagami crashed out of his home grand prix sprint after a collision with teammate Johann Zarco, while Red Bull KTM's Brad Binder, sixth in the championship, quit due to an issue with his bike.

"We´re investigating what happened to cause Brad Binder's sprint to come to a premature end," the team wrote on X. "For now, all we can do is apologize to Brad."