Turkish, French Teams Quit Game Alleging Romanian Referee’s Racist Remark

Achille Webo (C), player of Basaksehir reacts during the UEFA Champions League group H soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Istanbul Basaksehir in Paris, France, 08 December 2020. Photo: EPA-EFE/IAN LANGSDON

"The negro, the negro one over there. Go and check who he is," Romanian fourth referee Sebastian Coltescu told the first referee, indicating Istanbul Basaksehir's assistant coach Pierre Webo at the 14th minute of the game. The microphones of cameras recorded the moment and players of both teams overheard his remarks.

Following his remarks, Webo and Basaksehir's Senegalese star Demba Ba accused him of using a racist slur and repeatedly asked why he used the term. The referee insisted that the word just means black in Romanian but it had no effect.

"Why do you say Negro? When you speak about a white man you never say this white man you say this man. Why do you have to say this black man when you speak about a black man?," Ba reacted.

The Istanbul players later left the field and the Paris Saint Germain players followed them as a sign of solidarity.

"Our players decided a no show because of 4th referee Sebastian Coltescu's racist act against our assistant coach Pierre Webo," Istanbul Basaksehir wrote on Twitter, adding: "No to racism".

After the Paris Saint Germain team supported the decision of Istanbul Basaksehir, UEFA had to postpone the match to Wednesday night with a new referee list.

"UEFA is aware of an incident during tonight's Champions League match between Paris Saint-Germain and Istanbul Basaksehir and will be conducting a thorough investigation," UEFA, the European Football Authority, said on Twitter. "Racism, and discrimination in all its forms, has no place within football," UEFA added.