EXPLAINED: Why New Zealand football players refused to come out and play in second half of tie against Qatar after racial abuse episode
The All Whites abandoned the game after no action from officials.
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New Zealand and Qatar team after the incident (Credit: Geo.tv)
On Monday, the New Zealand football team alleged that a Qatar player racially abused one of their players which led them to walk out of the match. The friendly took place in Austria. The team said that an opponent, Yusuf Abdurisag Yusuf had been racist to defender Micheal Boxall who has Samoan heritage. They abandoned the friendly after they alleged that the officials were not taking sufficient action. They were leading 1-0 at halftime.
On Monday in Austria, there were two similar occurrences. The other involved the Republic of Ireland Under-21s’ friendly match against Kuwait Under-22s. Ireland substitutes alleged racist abuse by the Kuwait team and thus abandoned the game.
A statement by the New Zealand team read, “Michael Boxall was racially abused during the first half of the game by a Qatari player,” “No official action was taken so the team has agreed not to come out for the second half of the match.”
Marko Stamenic scored in the 17th minute, giving New Zealand the lead in the match. The friendly took place at Sonnenseestadion in Ritizing, Austria. Austrian referee Manuel Schüttengruber officiated it. As the players headed off the field for halftime, the team captain, Joe Bell, was observed in a conversation with Schüttengruber. Following that, the All Whites decided not to resume the match.
Another statement from New Zealand read, “NZPFA stands unequivocally with its players. We commend and support our players’ poised reaction in this challenging situation. We have contacted the team and will work with @NZ_Football to support the players in any way required. There is no room for racism in our sport.”
This feud also resulted in heavy losses for both NZ and Qatar supporters as data showed that this friendly game was available to bet on at all the top betting platforms. However, the cancellation of the game resulted in losses.
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Qatar FA’s delivers firm response to New Zealand football team
The Qatar manager Carlos Queiroz spoke after the game saying, “Apparently two players on the pitch, they exchanged words … the New Zealand players, they decided to support his teammate as it is obvious all our team decided to support our player. This is a new story, a new chapter in football, which is for sure. Something that nobody can understand. I think this case will be under the observation of Fifa for sure.”
The president of Qatar FA gave an official statement on Tuesday supporting the accused player. Sheikh Jassim bin Rashid Al Buenain said, “Everyone at QFA stands with Yusuf Abdurisag Yusuf and strongly condemns the unwarranted attention he has received in the past 24 hours,”
“The QFA has consistently promoted multicultural values in its programmes and initiatives, and for decades our national football team has competed around the world without any member, whether playing or non-playing, facing accusations of discriminatory behavior.” He further stated how many sporting events in Qatar took place without such incidents.
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