Ireland under-21s walk off pitch after alleged racist abuse during match

Press Association

The Republic of Ireland Under-21s’ friendly against Kuwait Under-22s had to be abandoned on Monday due to allegations of racist abuse.

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

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.”

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.

— Ireland Football ⚽️🇮🇪 (@IrelandFootball) June 19, 2023

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.

Crawford spoke out passionately in March after members of Ireland’s Under-15s squad were racially abused online, prompting the FAI to brand the perpetrators’ actions “vile and horrific”.

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.