ESPNsoccernet: England

LONDON -- FIFA president Sepp Blatter says players facing racial abuse during games shouldn't walk off the field as AC Milan did last week.

Kevin-Prince Boateng led the Milan players off Thursday during an exhibition against lower division club Pro Patria that was abandoned because of racist chanting by fans.

Blatter was quoted in Abu Dhabi's The National newspaper Sunday as saying: "Walk off? No. I don't think that is the solution. ... I don't think you can run away, because eventually you can run away if you lose a match."

Emphasizing that there should be "zero tolerance of racism in the stadium," Blatter urged local soccer authorities to impose "harsh" sanctions, such as point deductions.

Blatter says the Italian federation has yet to provide FIFA with a report on Thursday's incident.