New Zealand postpones its match against Qatar
Carlos Queiroz: The Qatar coach had little understanding of the New Zealanders’ decision.Image: imago
Qatar and New Zealand met in a friendly match on Monday. Things remained cordial for only a short time. The U-21 match between Kuwait and Ireland was also canceled for the same reason.
The football test match between Qatar and New Zealand in the Austrian capital, Vienna, was canceled at halftime. It is said that the reason for this was a scandal on the field. New Zealand international Michael Boxall was said to have been racially abused by an opponent in the first half.
The New Zealanders then decided not to return to the field for the second half. Thus, the match ended with a score of 1-0 in favor of the “Kiwi”.
New Zealand international Michael Boxall.Image: www.imago-images.de
“No one can understand that”
Qatar coach Carlos Queiroz gave Al Kass some insight into the events surrounding the stoppage of the match: “At the end of the first half, the New Zealand captain came up to us unexpectedly and said they had decided not to return to the field.” “.
Queiroz was only partially aware of the quarrel that took place on the field between Boxall and the Qatari player: “The two players exchanged words on the field. Only two of them knew who started and who reacted. New Zealand players chose to support their player and our players chose to support their teammates. (…) I have decided to cancel the match. There were no witnesses, and the referee and bench did not hear it. “This is a new chapter in football that no one can understand.”
Confusion prevailed between the two halves of the Qatar-New Zealand match, as New Zealand players refused to come out, saying that a Qatari player had racially insulted one of his teammates.
This was a statement by Qatar coach Carlos Queiroz to Al Kass channel correspondent 👇pic.twitter.com/8sAIsnZsI1
— Qatar Football Live (@QFootLive) June 19, 2023
The New Zealand Federation, in turn, announced via Twitter that the team had decided to cancel due to the inaction of neutral parties – likely including the referees team.
What will happen next is still unclear: “This case will definitely be investigated by FIFA,” Queiroz suspects. The 70-year-old has only been coach of the Qatar national team since the beginning of the year. He was still playing for Iran in the World Cup last winter.
Another match in Austria was cancelled
Also in Austria, in Bad Radkersburg in Styria, a similar incident appears to have occurred on the same day: as announced by the Irish Football Association, a friendly match between the Under-21s and the Kuwaitis Under-22s was cancelled.
According to Irish sources, a similar incident is said to have occurred during a trial match between the Ireland U21s and Kuwait U22s, which was also held in Austria (in Bad Radkersburg/Styria).
The FA regrets to announce that today’s Under-21 international match against Kuwait has been canceled after a Kuwaiti player made a racist remark towards one of the substitutes.
— Ireland Football ⚽️🇮🇪 (@IrelandFootball) June 19, 2023
Al-Ittihad said on Twitter after the match: “The English Association regrets to announce the cancellation of today’s international under-21 match against Kuwait after a Kuwaiti player made a racist remark towards one of the substitutes.”
They will not tolerate racism towards their players or staff and will report this serious matter to FIFA and UEFA. Continue.
It seems that the Kuwaiti Federation saw things differently, as it said in a statement later published on Twitter, that the match, according to the director of the Kuwaiti Olympic team, was not completed due to “stiffness and excessive tension between the players.”
(t online/lac)
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