GERMANY walked out of a match against Honduras on Saturday after one of the German players suffered racist abuse, the team confirmed.
Jordan Torunarigha, the 23-year-old centre-back born to a Nigerian father, was the player at the receiving end of the racist abuse that led to the walkout.
The friendly between the German U-23s and Honduras in Wakayama, Japan was just five minutes before the final whistle when the Germans stopped playing and left the pitch.
The behind-closed-doors friendly was tied at 1-1 when Hertha Berlin defender Torunarigha, who was born in Germany, was abused by a Honduran opponent.
The Honduras team claimed it was a mere understanding but Germany were adamant racist language was used.
“The game has ended five minutes early with the score at 1-1. The Germany players left the pitch after Jordan Torunarigha was racially abused,” the German national team said on Twitter.
Germany’s Olympic coach and former international Stefan Kuntz added: “When one of our players is racially abused, playing on is not an option.”
The match, which was due to comprise of three thirds of 30 minutes each, saw Honduras take the lead in the 21st minute lead through Douglas Martínez before Felix Uduokhai, another player with Nigerian heritage, equalised for Germany in the 84th minute, just before the team left the pitch.
The friendly was an Olympics men’s football event warm-up match for both teams ahead of Tokyo 2020.
Germany’s Olympic campaign starts on Thursday against Brazil, with Saudi Arabia and Cote d’Ivoire the other teams in their group.
Honduras are in Group B at the Games with New Zealand, South Korea and Romania, who they play in their opening game on Thursday.
