All Whites coach on anti-racism stand: ‘Some things are bigger than the game’

The All Whites do not regret making their dramatic stand against racism, even if FIFA’s investigation into an alleged racial slur by a Qatari player proves inconclusive.

Coach Darren Bazeley has broken his silence on the ugly incident, which marred their international friendly against Qatar in Austria last month, after being appointed as the All Whites’ head coach on a permanent basis through to the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Tuesday.

The All Whites led Qatar 1-0 at halftime thanks to an early goal from midfielder Marko Stamenic, but they refused to come out for the second half after a comment made by opposition player Yousuf Abdurisag to Michael Boxall which visibly angered the New Zealanders. The referee took no action.

NZ Football won’t disclose what was said but insists it was a “significant racial slur” that was heard by multiple players.

In a statement after the match, Qatar Football Association insisted “no racial nor discriminatory language was used or directed towards any player of the New Zealand team”, and went on to allege Yousuf himself was racially abused.

“Qatar are saying things now which is a shame but some things are bigger than the game and when the players look back in a number of years the result won’t matter, but they will remember they made a strong stand together,” Bazeley said.

“Hopefully there are some things that come from this that make the game better in the long run.”

NZ Football chief executive Andrew Pragnell said its complaint is now with FIFA’s disciplinary committee but he admitted they had been unable to find additional evidence to support the players’ claims.

The alleged slur was not picked up on the effects microphones or heard by the referee.

“The latest from our side is we’ve moved forward with a query to the FIFA disciplinary committee and we’ve submitted everything they require from us and the ball is in their court so to speak, so we’ll see what comes of it,” Pragnell said.

NZ Football is sticking by its players.

“Absolutely I stand by the decision regardless of whatever the outcome is, but if it lands in an inconclusive space then we need to ask if we’re using technology correctly to protect players.”

Bazeley said the decision to abandon the game was led by the All Whites leadership group which consisted of senior players Boxall, Joe Bell, Bill Tuiloma, Tommy Smith, Marco Rojas and Oli Sail, and was supported by the entire squad.

“We have some really morally responsible players in our squad, which we are privileged to have, and they didn’t make a hasty decision,” Bazeley said.

“They talked about it and talked about the repercussions but said no, we’re not standing for this because some things are bigger than the game.”

It would have been a notable result for the All Whites had they hung on to beat the Asian Cup champions, but the forfeit did not end up jeopardising Bazeley’s chances of landing the job on a permanent basis.

If anything, the team’s strong show of leadership may have actually helped the Englishman, who served as an interim coach for four matches after originally missing out to a “preferred candidate” in January.

That preferred candidate, understood to be Canada coach John Herdman, re-committed to Canada Soccer in February but has voiced his concerns over their financial troubles in recent weeks.

“I thought we played very well that day,” said Bazeley of the first-half performance against Qatar.

“It’s a game we probably would have gone on and won. Because they were winning the game, it probably made the stance even stronger.”