Why NZ Football can’t let All Whites’ racism claim case disappear into FIFA’s too-hard basket

ANALYSIS: New Zealand Football officials must use the imminent presence of FIFA officials in Aotearoa to press the seriousness of the anti-racism stance made by the walk-away All Whites.

Otherwise, there is a real risk that the claim of racial abuse levelled at All Whites centreback Michael Boxall by a Qatar rival on Tuesday could disappear into a Bermuda Triangle void, rather like a case involving former Liverpool striker Rhian Brewster in 2018.

The New Zealand-Qatar match in Ritzing, Austria, was abandoned after the All Whites refused to play the second half in protest at no action being taken by the match referee after a comment allegedly made by Qatari winger Yousuf Abdurisag at Boxall, who has Samoan heritage.

An All Whites’ boycott was a significant action in itself, equivalent to worksite artisans downing tools and walking off the job.

But, regrettably, the public are no nearer to understanding the gravity of the incident because no-one will reveal what exactly was allegedly said.

All NZF chief executive Andrew Pragnell will say is it was “a significant racial slur’’, a strong statement, maybe, but one lacking vital specificity.

NZF is lodging a formal complaint but FIFA is yet to receive a report from the match commissioner, which would include an account from experienced Austrian referee Manuel Schüttengruber.

A FIFA list referee since 2014, Schüttengruber effectively holds the key to determining the All Whites’ claim otherwise it could come down to a “we said/they said’’ situation.

In 2018, Brewster – now on the books of promoted English Premier League Sheffield United – was playing for Liverpool in a UEFA Youth League game against Russian club Spartak Moscow when he complained of being racially abused by Spartak captain Leonid Mironov.

Liverpool lodged a complaint with UEFA, whose football control, ethics and disciplinary body interviewed five players from each side and two match officials. Mironov, according to a UEFA press release published by the Press Association: “stated that he indeed swore at Rhian Brewster, but he unreservedly denied using any discriminatory language’’.

Accordingly, UEFA said it had “failed to find evidence of any corroboration of the claim’’, although it believed the complaint had been made in good faith.

That would have been cold comfort for a teenage Brewster, who told The Guardian in 2018 that he had been subjected to racial abuse on seven occasions, including in an earlier game against Spartak. Since leaving Liverpool, he has twice reported being racially abused on social media.

The All Whites’ claim, however, could be different to the Brewster case in one critical respect. Judging by the angry response of several All Whites swarming around Abdurisag, they must have heard something.

Indeed, New Zealand striker Max Mata was seen on TV footage saying: “He can’t say that, ref!”. Presumably he, captain Joe Bell and defender Bill Tuiloma, who were also handy, would be willing to swear to the FIFA jurisprudence equivalent of a court affidavit.

Still, Abdurisag’s words were not audible on the broadcast and Qatar’s veteran coach Carlos Queiroz claimed the All Whites had “decided to abandon the game with no witnesses’’ and “the referee did not listen [to what was said].’’

Qatar’s Football Association has also countered with a complaint that their player was racially abused earlier in the match – a curious claim given there was no visible reaction from the Qataris, which there almost certainly would be from any team confronted with racism.

NZF and the NZPFA (Professional Players Association) have, understandably, elected to refrain from more substantive public comment and have focused on supporting Boxall and his All Whites teammates.

Boxall, who has since rejoined his MLS club Minnesota United, has also yet to break his silence.

The All Whites, indubitably, took a very strong stand in refusing to complete the match. No other team has taken such a step in a senior international and they have been widely praised for it.

It may, however, in hindsight, have been better for the New Zealand players to have backed up their bold stance by fronting and explaining exactly what they heard on the pitch.

The front-foot approach has been effective at bringing the racism issue to the fore in other instances.

England manager Gareth Southgate and his players were quick to publicly denounce the torrents of racial abuse by Bulgarian fans directed at England’s Black players at a 2020 UEFA Cup qualifier against Bulgaria in Sofia in 2019.

Their powerful denunciations brought the vile behaviour into much sharper focus than just opting for actions rather than words. Ultimately, UEFA fined Bulgaria’s FA €75,000 ($NZ132,000) and ordered them to play their next official match behind closed doors.

The All Whites’ case must not be allowed to be filed away in FIFA’s too-hard basket.

World football’s top officials are coming to New Zealand for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, starting next month. Hopefully, Pragnell and Oceania Football Confederation officials can use that unique opportunity to personally press upon FIFA president Gianni Infantino and his hierarchy the need to resolve the Ritzing racial abuse claim and counter-claim.