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