New Zealand's All Whites took a brave stand in the seemingly never-ending battle to rid football of racism on June 19, refusing to take to the field for the second half of their friendly clash with Qatar at Sonnenseestadion in Ritzing, Austria, after defender Michael Boxall was allegedly subjected to a racial slur by Qatari winger Yousuf Abdurisag in the dying minutes of the first half of a match which the All Whites were leading 1-0 when it was abandoned. Abdurisag had gone down a little too easily to earn a free-kick halfway inside the All Whites half, prompting Boxall to appeal to him to play the game in the manner and spirit in which it had been played so far, while Austrian referee Manuel Schuttengruber was marking the place from where the free-kick should be taken, and where the defensive wall should form up ten yards on. The reaction of Abdurisag was akin to a bull to Boxall's red rag, with the Qatari player unleashing a verbal torrent in reply to the long-serving All Whites defender which drew an instant reaction from several of his team-mates, Bill Tuiloma, Max Mata and captain Joe Bell chief amongst them. Both Mata and Boxall asked the referee if he'd heard what had been said, and the official was very soon pointing a warning finger at Abdurisag as his team-mates attempted to calm him down. Mr Schuttengruber then spoke to Bell at length as the two discussed the situation, and the All Whites captain was seen shaking his head in response to the referee's comments. The discussion between the two resumed after the half-time whistle minutes later, with other All Whites party to it as they made their way from the field for what was to be the last time in this match. Because after returning to the solitude of their dressing room, Darren Bazeley's charges swiftly came to the conclusion that if the official wasn't going to support their grievance, they would take the matter out of his hands and draw attention to the problem by making a brave statement, and an unprecedented one in NZ football's history - they refused to return to the field for the second half, thereby forcing the match to be abandoned. It goes without saying that there will be plenty of official activity in the aftermath of this turn of events, with the All Whites' actions effectively prompting FIFA to enact recent announcements they've made regarding the handling of racism in football, i.e. no more talking - get to and do. There was understandably plenty of comment about the episode on social media post-match, with a number of individuals sadly revealing their true colours where the subject of racism is concerned, one in which there can be no grey areas - you either fully support or oppose the All Whites' response to the situation in which they found themselves. There are no in-betweens. Prior to the incident which prompted history to be made, this had been a decent contest between the champions of Asia and Oceania. It started slowly, with the first opportunity materialising in the eleventh minute, Marko Stamenic desperately close to charging down Meshaal Barsham's clearance

close to goal. Five minutes later, an All Whites counter-attack saw Callum McCowatt leading the charge over halfway before linking with Max Mata. He played a one-two with Marco Rojas before fizzing a cross across the face of goal, with no one in a black shirt racing in to supply the finishing touch. New Zealand had but seconds to wait to see Qatar's net bulge. Matt Garbett combined with Rojas for the benefit of Stamenic, who lashed an angled twenty yarder between two defenders and beyond the diving figure of Barsham into the far corner of the net to open the scoring. Qatar sought a swift reply, Homam Al Amin powering forward from deep before unleashing an angled twenty-five yard drive which flew across both Max Crocombe - a rare start in New Zealand's goal for him - and the far post. Carlos Queiroz's  charges failed to capitalise on a 24th minute opening prompted by an Abdurisag free-kick to the far post, while two minutes later the same player pounced on a Nando Pijnaker error, then raced into the penalty area before setting up Almoez Ali, who somehow contrived to hit the post with Crocombe beaten - a real let-off for the All Whites. After McCowatt just failed to get on the end of a delicious angled delivery from Liberato Cacace ten minutes before half-time, Abdulla Al Maarafi took advantage of an untimely slip by an opponent to link up with Ali. He played Abdurisag through the inside right channel, where he skipped inside Pijnaker before unleashing a shot which Crocombe superbly tipped round the far post - a vital save. Al Amin's resulting corner picked out the head of Yousef Ayman, who directed his eight yard header past the far post. This prompted an instant All Whites counter-attack, with Mata and McCowatt combining to put Rojas in on goal with Barsham to beat. Alas for the All Whites, the 'keeper blocked his attempt, then parried Stamenic's follow-up to safety - Rojas should have scored, as rounding a committed 'keeper was an option on the table. The Colo Colo striker lashed another effort over the bar in the 43rd minute, soon after Crocombe had turned Al Amin's free-kick round the post, the awarding of which ultimately prompted the All Whites to take a brave stand against racism. Over to you, FIFA, to act "for the good of the game" and do what's right in the war against racism in football after this episode in a nation which is forever tarnished as being the birthplace of one of the world's most evil, despicable and racist individuals in history - initials AH. Qatar:          Barsham; Khidir, Ayman, Salman, Al Amin; Al Maarafi, Fathi, Meshaa; Abdurisag, Ali, Ahmed All Whites:     Crocombe; Tuiloma, Boxall, Pijnaker (booked, 41), Cacace; Garbett, Bell, Stamenic; McCowatt, Mata, Rojas Referee:     Manuel Schuttengruber (Austria)