The friendly against New Zealand was the last match before Qatar faces off in the CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Qatar’s Carlos Queiroz side was left bewildered after New Zealand abandoned their friendly after allegations that a Qatari player reportedly racially abused his opponent during the game, sparking debates and questions online.

“In the 40th minute of the New Zealand vs. Qatar game today in Austria, a Qatari player used a racial slur towards All Whites defender Michael Boxall after a confrontation between the two players,” New Zealand Football (NZF) claimed in a statement after the game.

However, a video of the incident that was widely shared online failed to show whether any racist action or word was said, however it did show an apparent heated moment between Qatar’s Yousuf Abdurisag – who is of African descent – and New Zealand’s Boxall in the 40th minute.

In the clip, an animated Max Mata is seen to react to something said by Abdurisag as he stood up. The Kiwi player appears to say “ref, he can’t say that ref.”

Shortly after, Abdurisag can be seen saying “watch your mouth” to the Kiwi player.

The murky details surrounding the incident have triggered questions both on and off the pitch, with Queiroz confirming no body knew what was said.

“The facts are the following. Apparently two players on the pitch exchanged words. The New Zealand players decided to support their team-mate. All our team decided to support our player.”

“The staff of New Zealand also support the statement of the New Zealand player. We support our player and they decided to abandon the game with no witnesses,” he added.

“This is the new chapter in football, something that nobody can understand. Let’s allow the football authorities to take a decision about what happened. I think this case will be under the observation of FIFA, for sure, because I ask the coach, the referees… nobody (heard anything),” said Queiroz.

In response to the altercation, social media users questioned accusations targeting Qatari players, some of which are of South American, Iraqi – or like Abdurisag -African descent.

“A black player racially abused to white player?” one user commented.

Several other social media accounts also reacted to the altercation, many of which attempting to unveil the mystery of what was said to the Kiwi and Samoan footballer by the Black Qatari athlete. 

“What did he say? ‘You are white milk bottle”, one user said while another account wrote, “what can be said to another dark skin brother that can upset him.”

Experts say while assumptions and stereotypes about white individuals may exist, the case of racism historically has been defined by Eurocentric beliefs, with many refuting claims that ‘reverse racism’ can exist.

The friendly was the last match before Qatar’s CONCACAF Gold Cup campaign begins.

The 2022 World Cup hosts were invited as a guest team and will face off against teams from North America, South America, and the Caribbean for the second time at the competition.