New Zealand walked out of Monday’s friendly against Qatar after saying that defender Michael Boxall was racially abused by a Qatari player.
According to Stuff, the incident took place in the 40th minute when Qatar winger Yusuf Abdurisag made a comment toward the Minnesota United defender that left New Zealand’s players visibly angry.
After the referee did not take any action, the All Whites refused to come out for the second half.
“Michael Boxall was racially abused during the first half of the game by a Qatari player,” New Zealand’s official Twitter account said. “No official action was taken so the team have agreed not to come out for the second half of the match.”
Michael Boxall was racially abused during the first half of the game by a Qatari player.
No official action was taken so the team have agreed not to come out for the second half of the match.
— New Zealand Football 🇳🇿 (@NZ_Football) June 19, 2023
The match in Austria was abandoned with New Zealand leading 1-0.
Speaking on the match broadcast, Qatar head coach Carlos Queiroz cautioned against drawing any conclusions before an investigation was conducted.
”The facts are the following: Apparently two players on the pitch exchanged words. The New Zealand players decided to support their teammate just as our team decided to support our player,” Queiroz said.
“They decided to abandon the game with no witnesses. The referee did not listen [to what was said]. It’s just an argument between two players.
“I think is a new chapter in football which is for sure something nobody can understand. Let’s let the football authorities make a decision. I think this game will be under observation from FIFA for sure.”
The New Zealand Professional Footballers Association released a statement supporting the All Whites players, saying they “commend and support our players’ poised reaction in this challenging situation.”
Sadly, the New Zealand-Qatar match wasn’t even the only international game on the day abandoned due to alleged racism. Ireland’s FA said that its U-21 game against Kuwait was ended after a racist remark by a Kuwaiti player toward an Irish player.
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