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By stepping off the field together, Paris Saint-Germain and Istanbul Başakşehir are making the biggest mark in professional football in the fight against racism.
Paris. “Signs in Europe”, “historic decision” – and a lot of solidarity and respect: Rarely in the history of professional football has an abandoned game provoked such reactions.
When the assistant referee left the pitch after an incident of racism, Champions League participants Başakşehir Istanbul and Paris Saint-Germain sent a signal of strength and determination.
“There is no place for discrimination. Not in football, not in the world ”, wrote PSG professional Thilo Kehrer, Brazilian superstar Neymar published a“ Black Lives Matter ”, and from Kylian Mbappé it was said:“ Say no to racism. M. Webó we are with you “(We are with you). Due to the fact that the Turkish guests refused to continue playing on Tuesday night following the statements of the fourth official, UEFA decided shortly before midnight not to whistle the game again and on Wednesday night with a new team of referees in around the Dutch Danny Makkelie when the score was 0.: 0 to continue after 15 minutes.
Insult and excuse
The teams’ decision, especially driven by Başakşehir professional Demba Ba, paid tribute to politics, associations and top international stars. “Tonight the athletes have made a historic decision against an attitude that they deemed unacceptable,” wrote French Sports Minister Roxana Maracineanu on Twitter. She “could only accept the strong symbolism of his gesture and his solidarity.”
There was no doubt what had happened. The guest’s assistant coach, former Cameroonian international Pierre Webó, saw the red card in the first half. It is said that it was a racist insult from the fourth official. Sebastian Colţescu was accused of using racist language to refer to blacks.
This expression could be clearly heard in the empty Prinzenpark stadium during the television broadcast. The Romanian referee team was also heard to try to defend themselves by saying that the fourth official had used the Romanian word for black (negru) and not the “N word”.
Webó, Ba and others were then heard loudly signaling that the referees would not have said “white” to identify a white player. Immediately after the incident, Başakşehir tweeted the logo of the Uefa campaign “No to racism – Respect”.
“A poster in Europe”
Thousands of people expressed their solidarity on social media. Fare Network Against Discrimination saw the events as an important signal in the fight against racism. “The fact that Başakşehir and PSG left the field together sends a message to Europe,” Fare CEO Piara Powar told the AP news agency.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan condemned “the racist testimony of Pierre Webó”, and fiercely rival Istanbul clubs such as Galatasaray or Fenerbahçe also expressed their solidarity on social media.
Referee Ovidiu Hategan, who tried to get the players to move on, had to deal with racism in a Champions League match earlier. Seven years ago he led Manchester City’s match at CSKA Moscow, in which Yaya Touré had drawn his attention due to the insulting screams of the public. Hategan had recorded the incidents in his party report, but took no further action.
(Red.)
