Sulley Muntari punishment to stand after Pescara player walked off pitch v Cagliari

Italian authorities have confirmed that Sulley Muntari is being punished for walking off the pitch against Cagliari, after the Pescara player claimed he was racially abused during a Serie A game on Sunday.

The former Ghana international midfielder received two yellow cards from referee Daniele Minelli in the game at Cagliari - for speaking to the crowd after alleging he was racially abused, and for walking off the pitch in protest.

In normal circumstances, a player would be automatically suspended for his team's next game after receiving two yellow cards, but world footballers' union FIFPro had called for Muntari's yellow cards to be rescinded because of the exceptional circumstances.

However, Serie A's sporting judge has decided that the punishment must stand and Muntari will miss Pescara's home game against Crotone on Sunday. Pescara are bottom of the table with just 14 points from 34 games played this season.

On Monday, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, applauded Muntari for his reaction during Cagliari's 1-0 win.

The 32-year-old, who previously played for Portsmouth and Sunderland in the Premier League, gave his shirt to a boy whose family were abusing him, adding: "I needed to set an example so he grows up to be nice."

Cagliari officials say they heard no racist chanting at their ground during the game, with the club's vice-president Stefano Filucchi saying: "We are convinced that the Cagliari fans are not racist."

On Tuesday, the Italian Sports Tribunal said Cagliari are not being punished after their fans allegedly racially abused Muntari "because it was only about 10 supporters".

The Tribunal said Cagliari are not being sanctioned because those fans were less than one per cent of the stadium stands' occupants. This means they did not reach the minimum number for the behaviour to be considered punishable. Moreover, the match officials say they did not hear the abuse.

Elsewhere, the Tribunal decided that one home section of Inter Milan's stadium is to be closed for one game after Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly was racially abused. It said 80 per cent of the 7,000 fans in the section were involved during Napoli's 1-0 win at the San Siro on Sunday.

One home section of Lazio's stadium is also to be closed for one game after Roma defender Antonio Rudiger was racially abused by Lazio fans during their 3-1 win at the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday.

Both closures are suspended for one year and will be enforced only if it happens again.