[News] Two international U21 friendlies are abandoned due to allegations of racist abuse

The Republic of Ireland U21s’ friendly against Kuwait U22s was one of two international matches abandoned on Monday June 19, due to allegations of racist abuse.

The Football Association of Ireland anno1unced that their match in Bad Radkersburg, Austria, was brought to a premature conclusion in the second half with Jim Crawford’s team-leading 3-0.

Meanwhile, New Zealand’s match against Qatar, coincidentally also in Austria, was abandoned at half-time when New Zealand refused to take to the field after no action was taken over an alleged racist remark.

The FAI posted on Twitter: “The FAI regrets to announce that today’s U21 international against Kuwait has been abandoned after a racist remark was made by a Kuwaiti player towards one of our 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.”

In a statement posted later on Twitter, the Kuwait FA revealed Kuwait Olympic football team director Jarrah Al-Ateeqi said that the match “was not completed due to roughness and excessive tension between the players”.

The Kuwait FA said: “Al-Ateeqi explained that the match stopped at the 70th minute to protect the players from injuries, especially since the main goal of the match is friction and standing on the readiness of the players before the conclusion of their camp and return to the country.”

The governing body added that Al-Ateeqi “praised the discipline and commitment of the players throughout the camp”.

Ireland led 2-0 at the break after early goals from Ollie O’Neill and Conor Carty, and extended their advantage seven minutes after the restart through Aidomo Emakhu, making his debut after being introduced as a half-time substitute.

Monday’s game came at the end of a training camp in Austria designed to prepare them for September’s European Championship qualifiers against Turkey and San Marino, and four days after they fought back to draw 2-2 with Ukraine Under-21s.

Meanwhile, in Ritzing, also in Austria, New Zealand refused to take the field for the second half after no action was taken over alleged racism in their friendly against Qatar.