The Suriname national team has called on Concacaf and FIFA to investigate incidents of racist abuse from fans they say players were subject to during a Concacaf Nations League match against Guatemala on Monday, Oct. 5.
In the 63rd minute of the match in Guatemala City, Suriname forward Richonell Margaret was shown a direct red card for what appeared to be a comment made toward a fan. Margaret said after the game that "the entire stadium" was making monkey noises toward him.
The red card started a delay of nearly 10 minutes, as Suriname spoke with referee Joe Dickerson, who could be seen making the "X" — FIFA's no-racism gesture, during the conversation with Suriname captain Myenty Abena. Eventually, Abena and the team huddled in front of the bench,
opting to continue on with the match.
"As captain, I was faced with a difficult decision: Do we walk off the pitch and accept the consequences, or do we continue with 10 men and refuse to let racism drive us away from the game we love?" Abena wrote in a lengthy Instagram post after the game. "With around 20 minutes left, we chose to continue. Not because what happened was acceptable. Not because it didn’t affect us. But because of our love for football, our country, and each other."
Guatemala went on to win 1-0 on a stoppage-time winner from California-born Matthew Evans. The goal helped Los Chapines reach the Nations League quarterfinals and, combined with results later in the night, eliminated Suriname from advancing.
Requests for comment to FIFA and Concacaf were not immediately returned.
Margaret shared a number of racist comments and images sent to him on Instagram and posted an Instagram story directed to Concacaf and FIFA: "The entire stadium is making monkey noises at me and my teammates. Do we always have to accept this?"
Suriname, a country geographically in South America but culturally Caribbean and a founding member of Concacaf, also endured racist chanting last year in a World Cup qualification match in El Salvador. Then-manager Stanley Menzo and center back Shaquille Pinas drew attention to it after the match, and FIFA fined the Salvadoran federation and decreased the capacity for the nation's next home match.
Suriname general manager Brian Tevreden was on the touchline during both matches and spoke with Dickerson during the delay on Monday.
"This is scandalous, and it simply cannot go on like this. We are the ones being punished: the entire match was turned upside down," Tevreden said in a statement sent to USA TODAY Sports. "And beyond tonight, it's already the second time this has happened to us in Central America. It's disgraceful.
"I am seriously considering no longer traveling with my team to places where this is allowed to happen. Concacaf and FIFA really have to take action now."
Suriname players echoed the director's hope for a stronger response for governing bodies to prevent future incidents from happening in the region.
"Now, I call on FIFA and Concacaf to take responsibility and act," Abena wrote. "As players, we made the decision to stay on the pitch and finish the game under extremely difficult circumstances. We did our part.
"Now we are waiting for FIFA and Concacaf to do theirs. After our experience in El Salvador we continued with nothing but love for the game. Now experiencing this in Guatemala, we can no longer stay silent.
"If we truly want racism out of football, words and campaigns are not enough. There must be action and accountability when it happens."
Suriname manager Henk Fraser noted several Guatemala players apologized to him for the crowd's behavior.
"To be honest, the reason why we got the red card is because one of my players reacted to some people who made noises which are not decent to do," Fraser said in a post-match news conference. "I don’t think that belongs to this beautiful country, I don’t think this belongs to these beautiful players, but the sound they make? I think it’s not only stupid but ignorant.
"My players also can’t react to that, that’s also not the right thing to do, but this is something that [should] never happen in such a beautiful country as Guatemala."
He said Margaret should've responded better and pinned the defeat on going down to 10 men. "That is a pity," Fraser said. "It cost us a game, and I think if it’s FIFA, Concacaf, whatever, they really have to stop these stupid things."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Suriname alleges racist abuse in Guatemala, calls on FIFA and Concacaf to act
