July 17, (THEWILL) – In another ugly incident of racism in football, the entire Olympic football team of Germany promptly walked off the football pitch after one of their players was allegedly racially abused during a pre-Olympic friendly match against Honduras in Wakayama.
The dust disturbed by the racist fans that targeted the English trio of Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka at the final of the Euro 2020 on Sunday is yet to settle and this has taken place to drive home the point of the prevalence of racist sentiments in sports of recent.
To clarify the decision of the German side to walk off with five minutes of regulation time left, the German Football Association said on its website that the game was abandoned after Hertha Berlin defender Jordan Torunarigha was racially abused.
The post from their Twitter handle was succinct: “The game had to be stopped five minutes before the end when the score was 1-1. After our player Jordan Torunarigha was racially insulted, the German team left the field together.”
The Stefan Kuntz-coached squad all took to the dressing room following the incident. On his part, coach Kuntz said the team considered it an abuse of each member of the squad. Kuntz said in comments made after the match: “When one of our players is racially abused, playing on is not an option.”
But, in their reaction to the incident, the Honduras national team posted a clarification via their official Twitter account that the incident was the result of a “misunderstanding.”
The post said: “Game ended at 87 [minutes] by abandonment due to the fact that a German player alleged an alleged racist insult on the part of the Honduran national team.
“On the subject, the Seleccion Nacional de Honduras expresses that the situation was the result of a misunderstanding on the pitch.”
Both sides were using the opportunity of the match to prepare their sides for the football events of the upcoming Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan. The German team will kick-off their campaign on Thursday against Brazil in the opener of Group D encounters with Saudi Arabia and the Ivory Coast all drawn in the same group.
For the Honduran side, they will contend in Group B where they have been drawn alongside New Zealand, South Korea and Romania who they play in their opening game on Thursday.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
