Amid the Fifa date, the friendly between New Zealand and Qatar, this Monday (19), ended at halftime. With a partial score of 1 to 0 for the Oceania team, the game — played in Austria — came to an end, after the first half, due to an accusation of racism.
Defender Michael Boxall claimed to have received a racist insult from a Qatari player, led by Portuguese Carlos Queiroz. On social media, the New Zealand football federation issued a statement and gave more details of the situation.
“Michael Boxall was racially abused during the first half of our game today by a Qatari player. No official action was taken so the team agreed not to return for the second half of the match,” the statement said.
Coach Carlos Queiroz expressed surprise at the decision and asked for an investigation “by the football authorities”.
“At half-time, surprisingly, the New Zealand captain came up to us and stated that the players had decided not to return to the match. The facts are as follows: apparently, two players on the field had an argument. What started (the argument), is between them. The New Zealand players decided to support their teammate, obviously, as we decided to support ours. The coaching staff (respectively), too”, said the Portuguese.
“They decided to abandon the game, with no witnesses (of what happened), the referee didn’t hear what happened. Nobody heard. It was just an argument between two players. I think this will be a new chapter in football, something that nobody can understand. We’ll let the football authorities decide what happens with this friendly. I think this Fifa case will be under FIFA’s observation for sure. I asked everyone and nobody heard anything. The fact is that we had a friendly and they abandoned (the game) “, added the commander.
Similar case happens in Ireland under-21 x Kuwait under-21
Also on Monday, the match between Ireland and Kuwait, for the under-21s, came to an early end due to accusations of racism. The friendly — played in Slovenia — ended at 25 minutes of the second half.
“The Football Association of Ireland regrets to inform you that our match against Kuwait has come to an end after a racist insult was made by a Kuwaiti player towards one of our substitutes,” the Irish association said in a statement.
“The Football Association of Ireland does not tolerate any form of racism against our players and/or staff and will report this important matter to FIFA and Uefa,” added the statement, made via social media.
The FAI regrets to announce that today’s U21 international against Kuwait has been abandoned after a racist remark was made by a Kuwaiti player towards one of our substitutes.
— Ireland Football ⚽️🇮🇪 (@IrelandFootball) June 19, 2023
Also through the internet, the Kuwait federation denied the story and stated that the referee ended the match early to “protect players from possible injuries”.
“We confirm that the reports circulating are false, and the federation categorically rejects such accusations – especially considering that the match did not come to an end due to excessive tension between the players,” reads an excerpt from the statement.
Kuwait Football Association condemns the announcement made by the Irish Football Association through its official Twitter account, regarding the alleged racism directed towards one of their players during the friendly match between Kuwait Olympic Team and the Irish team, held on… pic.twitter.com/sU8q6JMvD0
— KuwaitFA (@KuwaitFA) June 19, 2023
Source: Gazetaesportiva
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