Alleged slur interrupted Tuesday’s game between Paris Saint-Germain and Istanbul Basaksehir 15 minutes in
The Champions League game between Paris Saint-Germain and Istanbul Basaksehir was postponed until Wednesday when players walked off the field on Tuesday after alleging that fourth official Sebastian Coltescu of Romania used a racial term when identifying an assistant coach.
Players from the Turkish team were furious after assistant coach Pierre Webo was shown a red card by referee Ovidiu Hategan of Romania at Parc des Princes. They said Coltescu had used a racial term to describe Webo, who is from Cameroon, before he was sent off.
Basaksehir substitute Demba Ba demanded that Coltescu explain himself, while PSG players Neymar and Kylian Mbappé also demanded an explanation.
Basaksehir coach Okan Buruk told Coltescu “you are racist.”
The score was 0-0 when the incident took place about 15 minutes into the match.
WATCH | Players from both sides exit field after alleged racial slur:
The Champions League game between Paris Saint-Germain and Istanbul Basaksehir was postponed until Wednesday when players walked off the field on Tuesday after alleging that fourth official Sebastian Coltescu of Romania used a racial term when identifying an assistant coach. 9:58
Match to resume Wednesday with new officials
The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) said the match would resume on Wednesday evening with new officials.
“Following an incident at tonight’s UEFA Champions League match between Paris Saint-Germain FC and Istanbul Basaksehir FK, UEFA has — after discussion with both clubs — decided on an exceptional basis to have the remaining minutes of the match played tomorrow with a new team of match officials,” the organization said in a statement late Tuesday.
“A thorough investigation on the incident that took place will be opened immediately,” the statement said.
Television footage captured the exchange between the fourth official and the referee, with Coltescu telling Hategan that Webo should be reprimanded for his behaviour on the sidelines.
“Go and give it [the red card] to the Black one, this is not possible [tolerable], go and identify him, go verify, the Black one over there,” Coltescu allegedly said in Romanian, about Webo.
In soccer, the fourth official is the title of one of the referees.
Players demand explanation
Webo was enraged and was heard to repeat at least six times “Why you say negro?” as he sought an explanation from Coltescu.
Moments later, Ba came off the bench and stood in front of Coltescu and said: “Why when you mention a Black guy, you have to say ‘This Black guy?’ ”
During the interruption, Basaksehir posted a message on Twitter against a UEFA backdrop with the message “NO TO RACISM.”
PSG retweeted the message and PSG defender Presnel Kimpembe, who was on the field during the game, also posted that message on his Twitter account.
Seven years ago, Hategan was in charge of a match between CSKA Moscow and Manchester City when City’s Black players were racially abused.
City captain Yaya Toure directed referee Hategan toward fans making monkey noises at the English club’s Black players.
Michel Platini, UEFA’s president at the time, requested an internal inquiry involving the referee to examine why guidelines were not followed to respond to discrimination incidents during matches.
Source: https://www.cbc.ca/sports/soccer/champions-league-alleged-racist-incident-psg-basaksehir-1.5833222
