Jim Crawford’s Republic of Ireland under-21s walked off the pitch in Austria on Monday, abandoning an international friendly against Kuwait in a show of solidarity with an Irish substitute after a “racist remark” was allegedly made by an opposing player.
“The FAI regrets to announce that today’s under-21 international against Kuwait has been abandoned after a racist remark was made by a Kuwaiti player towards one of our substitutes,” tweeted the FAI.
“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 incident happened in the second-half, not long after Millwall striker Aidomo Emakhu made it 3-0 to Ireland, in what was the third scheduled friendly in Austria this week. The first game against Gabon was also cancelled as the African team did not travel.
In response Jarrah Al-Ateeqi, the director of the Kuwait Olympic football federation, claimed that the match was abandoned after 70 minutes “due to roughness and excessive tension between the players” adding that Kuwait, and not the FAI, made this decision “to protect the players from injuries.”
Al-Ateeqi also praised his players’ “discipline and commitment.”
