AC Milan's Ghanaian midfielder Michael Essien says the football world must act sooner rather than later in order to stop racism in the game.
Verona have picked up a partial stadium closure for their next home match, after fans racially abused Sulley Muntari on Sunday.
For his Milan team-mate, who is a former player of Chelsea, measures must be taken by the authorities to ensure racism has no place in the game.
ââ¬ÅRacism really makes me sad. The fact that in 2014 there are some stupid people that still behave like this really makes me sad,â⬠Essien has told Milan Channel in an interview today.
ââ¬ÅGenerally speaking, those situations are awful for us but also for football.
ââ¬ÅFor instance, it was sad to see an empty ground during the game between CSKA Moscow and Manchester City last night.
ââ¬ÅI think that this is the moment to act in order to change this situation. We need to stop these things that happen very often in stadiums once and for all.ââ¬