Racism has been a big talking point in the past few years with players suffering multiple cases of abuse. FIFA is actively working to tackle racism with Real Madrid player Vinicius jr leading the group of players. New Zealand and the Ireland Under-21 team both refused to continue playing after players heard racially offensive comments from opponents Qatar and Kuwait respectively.
The New Zealand men's team was leading 1-0 against Qatar in a friendly match in Ritzing when defender Michael Boxall, who is of Samoan heritage, was allegedly racially abused by a Qatari player. The incident sparked a melee between the teams and captain Joe Bell complained to the referee, who declined to take any action. The All-Whites decided not to come out for the second half and walked off the pitch in protest.
NZF boss Andrew Pragnell said his governing body fully supported the players' stand and would contact FIFA with their concerns. "Certainly we want to reach out to FIFA on this," he told reporters in Auckland. He continued, "You know they have recently established a task force around racism, more needs to be done to protect players from racial attacks on the field.”
Qatar coach Carlos Queiroz also opened up on the same as asserting that he did not hear the comments and that it was just an argument between two players. Queiroz added that the incident was a new chapter in football that nobody could understand and that it would be under observation by FIFA.
In another match in Bad Radkersburg, the Republic of Ireland Under-21s were leading 3-0 against Kuwait Under-22s when one of the Irish substitutes was allegedly the target of racist abuse by a Kuwaiti player and the Irish team decided to stop playing and left the field.
Ireland's Football Association (FAI) also said that it too would be contacting football's governing bodies over a "racist remark" made to one of its substitutes. "The FAI does not tolerate any racism towards any of our players or staff and will be reporting this serious matter to FIFA and UEFA," the FAI said on social media.
The incidents came just days after FIFA President Gianni Infantino pledged to fight racism and discrimination in football at a summit in Zurich.