2023-06-19 23:48:15
“Michael Boxall was the victim of a racist insult in the first period from a Qatari player”, tweeted the New Zealand Federation to justify the fact that its players did not return to the lawn after half-time. friendly match against Qatar on Monday in Vienna.
“The referee did not react, therefore the team chose not to return to play the second period of the game,” the tweet added.
The Portuguese coach of Qatar, Carlos Queiroz, spoke for his part in English at the microphone of the Qatari channel Al-Kass.
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
“To our surprise, the New Zealand captain came to us to tell us that his team would not resume the game,” he said. “Apparently two players exchanged words on the pitch. Who started, who answered? Only they know (…) There is no witness, the referee did not hear anything, the benches either. It’s just an argument between two players,” he continued.
“Now let the football authorities make a decision (…) But without witnesses, I don’t know how Fifa will be able to make a decision,” added Queiroz. New Zealand led 1-0 at the break.
That same Monday, a friendly match between the U21s of Ireland and the U22s of Kuwait, also in Austria, was also interrupted definitively after the Irish people denounced racist insults against one of their substitutes.
The Irish Federation has announced that it will seize Fifa. The Irish led 3-0 at the time of the interruption, in the second half.
#Football #victims #racism #Zealanders #refuse #continue #match #Qatar