The Football Association of New Zealand said it fully supported the actions of the national team players, who refused to enter the second half of a friendly against Qatar due to racial slurs .
In the 40th minute of the game, which took place in Austria on Monday, the Qatari national team player insulted the New Zealand defender on racial grounds Michael Boxall after a fight broke out between them. Several players from the New Zealand team immediately heard the opponent’s statement. After the episode, the players approached the match’s head referee, but he was unresponsive to what happened. At half-time, the New Zealand national team decided not to continue the game due to “lack of official action”.
According to the media, Boxalla was insulted by a black striker from the Qatar national team Yusuf Abdurisag .
We fully support the actions of our players. We didn’t want the game to be abandoned, but some issues are more important than football and it’s important to take a stand. There is no place for racism in football, says association CEO Andrew Pragnell.
After the first half of the game, the New Zealand national team was leading with a score of 1:0.
Source : MatchTV
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