MONTREAL

6 Italian soccer fans sentenced to jail for racism

The Associated Press Published Wednesday, June 5, 2013 10:06AM EDT

This Sunday May 12, 2013 photo shows AC Milan players Kevin Prince Boateng, left, and Mario Balotelli looking at the stands during the stop of the Serie A soccer match between AC Milan and AS Roma, at Milan's San Siro Stadium. On Tuesday, May 14, 2013 FIFA President Sepp Blatter is protesting to the Italian football authorities over a decision to only fine Roma 50,000 euros (64,865 US dollars) after their fans racially abused AC Milan players. A Serie A game on Sunday was stopped for almost two minutes during the second half when visiting Roma supporters would not stop chanting at Milan players Mario Balotelli and Kevin-Prince Boateng. (AP Photo/Davide Spada, Lapresse) ITALY OUT

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BUSTO ARSIZIO, Italy--Six fans of lower-division club Pro Patria have been issued jail sentences from 40 days to two months for inciting racial hatred during a January friendly against AC Milan.

After repeated racist chants directed at him during the match, Milan and Ghana midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng kicked the ball in anger at a section of the crowd, took off his shirt and walked off the pitch with the rest of the Rossoneri.

Milan players Urby Emanuelson, Sulley Muntari and M'Baye Niang were also targeted by the chants.

Prosecutors had requested four- to six-month sentences.

The ANSA news agency reports that one fan received a 40-day sentence after collaborating with authorities, while the other five fans received two-month sentences.

The fans were also fined a total of (euro)10,000 ($13,000), plus trial expenses.

RELATED IMAGES

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AC Milan midfielder Kevin Prince Boateng, of Ghana, sports a jersey reading "AC Milan against racism" prior to the start of the Serie A soccer match in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Jan. 6, 2013. A friendly match between AC Milan and lower division club Pro Patria was abandoned last Thursday after racist chants directed at Milan's black players, the latest incident of racial abuse that continues to blight the sport. (AP / Antonio Calanni)