Soccer-Germany walk off in friendly after alleged racist abuse

July 17 (Reuters) – The German men’s Olympic soccer team left the pitch five minutes before the end of their warm-up game against Honduras in Wakayama, Japan on Saturday after defender Jordan Torunarigha was allegedly racially abused.

The game, played behind closed doors in three 30-minute periods, was tied at 1-1 at the time of the incident, which the Honduras national team said was a misunderstanding.

“The game has ended 5 minutes early with the score at 1-1. The Germany players left the pitch after Jordan Torunarigha was racially abused,” the national team said on Twitter.

Germany’s Olympic soccer coach and former international Stefan Kuntz added: “When one of our players is racially abused, playing on is not an option.”

Germany begin their Olympic Group D campaign against Brazil on July 22, while Honduras will take on Romania in their Group B opener.

Reporting by Hritika Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Hugh Lawson

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