The incident happened late in the eight-a-side fixture, with Ireland leading 4-1. An England player went to the touchline after an altercation between players from both sides, told coaching staff he had been racially abused, and the team then left the pitch.

According to The 42, one of the England coaches said to the referee.

“We are reporting racism. We do not want to play.”

England head coach Matt Thorpe was pictured waving his players off the field. The referee then abandoned the game.

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The Ireland player at the centre of the complaint is understood to have denied the accusation, telling officials he had used a different word from the one that was alleged to have been heard. Neither the Football Association nor the Football Association of Ireland had issued a public statement by Tuesday.

Disciplinary committee to rule ‘in due course’

In its own statement, FIFA said it was “aware of an incident” at the match and confirmed that the referee had abandoned the game after England’s refusal to continue.

“The official reports are being gathered, and the matter will be referred to the independent disciplinary committee who will decide in due course,” the governing body said.

A mid-game walk-off at a FIFA World Cup over an alleged racist slur is a rare escalation. The file now moves out of the referee’s hands and into a disciplinary process involving two national federations and two squads of 14 and 15-year-olds.

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Boycotts over Russia hang over the debut

The U15 World Cup and Festival is a new, broadly inclusive format pitching 189 countries and territories against each other in eight-a-side matches of two 20-minute halves. Ireland had beaten Montenegro and Zimbabwe and drawn with Nicaragua before the England game, and later on Monday beat Cambodia 4-1.

The debut has also been overshadowed by Russia’s inclusion. According to Yahoo Sports, Ukraine called on other associations to pull out, and more than a dozen European federations plus the United States declined to send a side. Poland travelled but has said it will not play Russia or Belarus. England and Ireland both chose to compete.

FIFA has not said when its disciplinary committee will meet to rule on the England-Ireland file.

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