{"id":309980,"date":"2023-06-19T23:30:20","date_gmt":"2023-06-19T23:30:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=309980"},"modified":"2023-06-20T01:59:14","modified_gmt":"2023-06-20T01:59:14","slug":"incensed-nz-walks-off-abandons-match-after-incident","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=309980","title":{"rendered":"Incensed NZ walks off, abandons match after incident"},"content":{"rendered":"

Players of New Zealand'<\/a>s national football team were left incensed and decided to abandon an international friendly when a Qatar<\/a> player allegedly made a racist remark.<\/p>\n

The All Whites led 1-0 in the 40th minute when centre-back Michael Boxall, who has Samoan heritage, was allegedly targeted by Yousuf Abdurisag.<\/p>\n

All Whites captain Joe Bell spoke with referee Manuel Schuttengruberand, who could be seen shaking his head.\ufeff<\/p>\n

AS IT HAPPENED:<\/strong> First Ashes Test, day four\ufeff<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Dons icon tees off as Bombers consider radical change\ufeff<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> 'Cruel and unusual' misses cost McIlroy a major\ufeff<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

The final five minutes of the first half were completed but the All Whites opted not to return for the second half in protest.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"New<\/p>\n

A statement released by New Zealand Football confirmed the match was abandoned at halftime after no action was taken by the referee.<\/p>\n

"In the 40th minute of the New Zealand vs Qatar game today in Austria, a Qatari player used a racial slur towards All Whites defender Michael Boxall after a confrontation between the two players," the statement read.<\/p>\n

"The racial slur was heard by several New Zealand players, including Boxall.<\/p>\n

"The players reported the incident, but no official action was taken.<\/p>\n

"At half-time, with the All Whites leading 1-0 in the fixture, given that no official action was taken, the team collectively agreed that they would not continue with the match."<\/p>\n

New Zealand Football CEO Andrew Pragnell condemned the remark.<\/p>\n

"We fully support the action of our players, who agreed collectively this course of action," he said.<\/p>\n

"We never want to see a match abandoned but some issues are bigger than football and it is important to make a stand.<\/p>\n

"There is no room for racism in football."<\/p>\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/QFootLive\/status\/1670850842633592832<\/a><\/p>\n

Qatar coach Carlos Queiroz spoke on the broadcast at halftime where he appeared to downplay the seriousness of the incident but said he expected FIFA to investigate.<\/p>\n

"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.<\/p>\n

"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.<\/p>\n

"I think it's a new chapter in football which is for sure something nobody can understand," he added.\u00a0<\/p>\n

"Let's let the football authorities make a decision. I think this game will be under observation from FIFA for sure."<\/p>\n

The New Zealand Professional Footballers' Association subsequently made its own statemen, affirming its support for Boxall and his teammates.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/MNUFC\/status\/1670920739485106177<\/a><\/p>\n

"NZPFA stands unequivocally with its players. We commend and support our players' poised reaction in this challenging situation," it read.<\/p>\n

"We have contacted the team and will work with New Zealand Football to support the players in any way required.\u00a0<\/p>\n

"There is no room for racism in our sport."<\/p>\n

The All Whites were on course for a significant win over the Asia Cup champions.<\/p>\n

Midfielder Marko Stamenic gave New Zealand an early lead in the 17th minute.<\/p>\n

For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by<\/strong><\/em> clicking here<\/strong><\/em><\/a>!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Players of New Zealand's national football team were left incensed and decided to abandon an international friendly when a Qatar player allegedly made a racist […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":309984,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/309980"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=309980"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/309980\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":309985,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/309980\/revisions\/309985"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/309984"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=309980"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=309980"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=309980"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}