The Qatari Federation removes accusations of racism
to me The State of Qatar, his player is not guilty and would even be a victim of this controversy. On Tuesday, the Qatar Football Association denied any racist statements made by Youssef Abdel-Rasaq during this period Monday’s match against New Zealand which is not over.
According to the country statementYoussef Abdel-Rasaq “confirmed the exchange of words with his opponent in the heat of the moment.” But he denied any “offensive or discriminatory remarks”. And the federation adds: “On the contrary, he was the victim of racist statements during the match.”
The New Zealand team withdrew from the match at half-time after claiming that Samoan-born player Michael Boxall was the target of racial abuse in the first half. The New Zealand Federation, in solidarity with this initiative, explained that “the referee did not respond, so the team chose not to return to play the second half of the match.”
‘It is important to take a stand’
New Zealand soccer coach Andrew Pragnell said: “We never want to give up a game, but some issues are bigger than football and it’s important to take a stand… There is no place for racism in football.”
Carlos Queiroz, coach of the Portuguese national team of Qatar, said today, Monday, that he was “surprised” by the opponent’s decision, considering that there were no witnesses and that the matter was just “a dispute between two players.” At halftime, in this closely contested encounter south of Vienna, Austria, New Zealand took a 1-0 lead thanks to a Marko Staminic goal in the 17th minute.
on Monday itself, Friendly match between Ireland U-21 and Kuwait U-22In Austria, too, it was also suspended after the Irish denounced racial slurs against one of their replacements. The Irish FA announced that it would take over FIFA. The Irish led 3-0 at the time of the break, into the second period.
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