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“Fed up”, “a turning point”…. The “astonishing” interruption on Tuesday of the Champions League match between Paris SG and Istanbul Basaksehir, following the words of a referee, received unanimous support from the world of sport, which hopes this reaction will be a turning point in eliminating racism from stadiums.
This duel of the 6th date of key H of the ‘Champions’ will be played this Wednesday at 2:55 p.m. from where it was interrupted the day before, at minute 14. But it will be without the Romanian refereeing body that was in charge of this duel on Tuesday that already has symbolic value.
When the fourth official Sebastian Coltescu was heard designating assistant coach Pierre Achille Webó as “the black” in Romanian (“negru”), it provoked the ire of the players and the coaching staff of the Turkish team and later PSG, who agreed to leave the pitch after a few minutes of tense conversations. This decision has never been seen in the elite of the world of football, sometimes labeled lax on this issue.
“A gesture of an unprecedented dimension and of an incredible impact,” wrote the French sports daily L’Equipe on Wednesday, with the headline “Fed up.” “The players said enough!” Le Parisien described.
“We have taught the racist referee a lesson”, commented the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet. On Tuesday night, the Turkish president “strongly” condemned the incident.
In Spain, PSG-Basaksehir overshadowed the reunion between superstars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo on the cover of the newspaper As: “Stop racism,” the newspaper headlined.
For Gazzetta dello Sport, “something unprecedented and above all very serious has happened”; a “strange” and “particularly astonishing” event that “It could be a turning point in the fight against discrimination in football”, according to the Guardian.
Webó’s outrage
An opinion shared by former English international Rio Ferdinand, whose brother Anton received racist insults in 2011: “The bodies of this sport must take a strong position.” “(Seeing) the players leaving the court together is a step in the right direction. But you cannot leave the responsibility of doing this to the players ”, he believes.
At night, Neymar, Kylian Mbappé and other members of PSG expressed their commitment against racism on social media.
Romanian Sports Minister Ionut Stroea apologized “on behalf of Romanian sport”.
It took a few seconds, in the middle of the cold night in a Park of the Princes behind closed doors, for the controversy to ignite.
After hearing how the fourth official appointed him, Pierre Achille Webó gave vent to his indignation: “He said ‘negro’ (He said ‘negro’)”. Sebastian Coltescu’s explanations (“’negru’ means black” in Romanian, words captured by RMC Sport television) do not calm the members of the Turkish club. A member of the Basaksehir coaching staff replied: “We are in the Champions League, not in Romania.”
Investigation and new referee
Senegalese international Demba Ba then asks the fourth official for explanations: “You never say ‘this white’, you say ‘that’, so when you refer to a black man, why do you say ‘this black’?”, the Basaksehir footballer asks in English. In those moments, Mbappé is heard saying that he will not continue playing if Coltescu remains on the pitch.
“We do not accept him. You are a racist ”, Basaksehir coach Okan Buruk told the fourth official.
After ten minutes of tense discussions, the players head to the changing rooms. Two hours later, UEFA makes the postponement official.
The agency announced an “in-depth investigation” on this issue. Its disciplinary regulations provide for a suspension of at least ten games for racist or discriminatory behavior.
The Dutch veteran Danny Makkiele will referee the remaining 76 minutes of a match (0-0) whose sporting interest took a back seat.
PSG qualified for the round of 16 thanks to the triumph, on Tuesday night, of RB Leipzig against Manchester United (3-2). The only incentive is the first square of the key.
This match will be remembered at the end of a year 2020 marked by the growing militant commitment of the world of sport, especially in football, where until then UEFA wanted to keep the politics of stadiums as far away as possible
The outrage of many American athletes against racial injustice, within the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement, has sparked movements across the Atlantic Ocean.
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