§1.2.1.(d) abstract role classes

A role class has to be marked abstract if any of its methods is not effective.
The methods of a role class comprise direct methods and methods acquired by inheritance. In addition to regular inheritance a role class may acquire methods also via implicit inheritance (§1.3.1).
A method may become effective by either:

§2.5 discusses under which circumstances abstract roles force the enclosing team to be abstract, too.