All Whites ‘racism’ incident: Qatar Football Association hits back with stunning claim

All Whites defender Michael Boxall was allegedly racially abused by a Qatari player. Photo / Photosport

Qatar Football Association (QFA) has hit back at accusations of racism from the All Whites during a friendly on Tuesday, claiming its own player was a victim of racial abuse.

The All Whites abandoned their clash against Qatar at halftime after accusing Qatari player Yusuf Abdurisag of making a racist comment to defender Michael Boxall, who is of Samoan heritage.

Almost 24 hours after the incident, QFA published a statement confirming words had been exchanged between players in the heat of the moment, but that Abdurisag had used “no racial or discriminatory language”.

Instead, the federation said, the Qatari forward, who is black, “stressed that, in fact, he himself was racially abused during the match”.

QFA president Jassim bin Rashid Al Buenain also released a statement saying he “strongly condemns the unwarranted attention” Abdurisag received in the past 24 hours.

📄 PRESS RELEASE | Statement from the Qatar Football Association clarifying what happened during our national team’s friendly against New Zealand, on 19 June 2023 pic.twitter.com/U48GtGsc76

— Amir Cup 🏆 (@QFA_EN) June 20, 2023

The incident happened in the 40th minute just before the halftime break, with the All Whites leading 1-0.

Abdurisag went to ground after giving a pass, claiming a foul by New Zealand captain Joe Bell. There wasn’t much in it, maybe a slight body check, but the referee gave a free kick.

Boxall walked over to remonstrate with the referee, then said something to Abdurisag, still sitting on the ground.

The Qatari got up and walked towards Boxall, saying something which caused almost half of the New Zealand team to react, as they were in earshot.

Boxall marched angrily towards his opponent, while several New Zealand players appeared to be asking the referee, ‘did you hear what he said?’

After a melee between the teams, Bell complained to referee Manuel Schuttengruber, who shook his head, indicating he would not take action against the Qatar player.

The two teams left the field, with the All Whites deciding, after a team meeting, not to return.

All Whites defender Michael Boxall was allegedly racially abused by a Qatari player. Photo / Photosport

After the match, New Zealand Football (NZF) said it fully backs the All Whites’ decision to refuse to play in the second half.

“We fully support the action of our players, who agreed collectively this course of action,” NZF CEO Andrew Pragnell said in a statement.

“We never want to see a match abandoned but some issues are bigger than football and it is important to make a stand.

“There is no room for racism in football.”

Pragnell told the Herald he plans to contact Fifa president Gianni Infantino directly to convey his concerns about the incident.

He didn’t confirm the nature of the abuse directed towards Boxall, but said it was “very significant and abhorrent and has no place in football”.

The alleged slur was not picked up on the broadcast.

In another football match on Tuesday, the Irish Football Association (IFA) said its under-21 team’s game against the Kuwait Olympic team was stopped “after a racist remark was made by a Kuwaiti player towards one of our substitutes”.

“The [IFA] does not tolerate any racism towards any of our players or staff and will be reporting this serious matter to Fifa and Uefa,” the Irish football body said on its Twitter account.

- with AP