New Zealand’s national men’s football team abandoned their friendly with Qatar, alleging racial abuse and inaction by officials. The All Whites took the extraordinary step of refusing to come back out at half-time of a game they led 1-0. New Zealand Football put a short statement on its social media channels after the walk-off. “Michael Boxall was racially abused during the first half of the game by a Qatari player,” the statement read. “No official action was taken so the team have agreed not to come out for the second half of the match.” Boxall is of Kiwi and Samoan heritage.
New Zealand abandon Qatar friendly at half-time over alleged racial abuse
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