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The players also wore jerseys with the slogan “No to racism” before the restart of the Champions League game on Wednesday.
Paris Saint-Germain soccer player Neymar has defended his team and Istanbul Basaksehir’s decision to leave the pitch in Tuesday’s Champions League game following alleged racist comments from an official, as the world’s most expensive player declared that racism “has no place in football or in life.”
PSG and Istanbul Basaksehir concluded their final group stage match on Wednesday, with Neymar scoring a hat-trick and saying both teams felt compelled to oppose racism in what was an unprecedented protest over an alleged comment from an official. .
PSG won the match 5-1 after restarting where they had left off the day before, in the 14th minute, following a discussion on the touchline over the allegations that the Romanian fourth official, Sebastian Coltescu, had described to the Cameroonian assistant coach. de Basaksehir, Pierre Webo, as “black”. or “negru” in Romanian.
“Sometimes in extreme circumstances, you have to do these things to see if the world can change a bit,” said Neymar, who along with other players and the new team of officials gathered around the center circle and knelt before the match. resumption of Wednesday. in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
The players also wore jerseys with the slogan “No to racism” as they warmed up at the Parc des Princes, where large banners in the empty stands carried the same message.
“What happened was unacceptable. In the times we live in, we cannot accept differences like these being made on color or race, ”Neymar told French radio station RMC Sport. “It has no place in football, or in life, or in any sport, so our attitude was perfect.”
Coltescu and the other Romanian referees were replaced for the restart by a new referee team led by Dutchman Danny Makkelie.
Basaksehir had already been eliminated from the Champions League even before this match but they made their mark on the competition with their response to Webo’s deal, who was sent off for reacting with fury to the alleged comment.
That red card was suspended by UEFA pending an investigation, and the governing body of European football promised a “full investigation”.
‘Show that we can live together’
“The fourth official used an unacceptable word for Pierre Achille Webo. The referee should have handled the situation correctly, but did not. We had to show that we were with Webo, ”said Basaksehir coach Okan Buruk.
The Turkish champions had refused to restart the match on Tuesday while fourth official Coltescu was still involved.
Webo was upset. We all gave him our support, but it is someone else who should feel bad and that is the person who used the words. He is the culprit. We have to show that we can all live together. Humanity is the most important thing. “
Television microphones in the empty stadium caught a furious Webo repeatedly asking why a racist term had been used to describe him.
In the exchange in question between the fully Romanian referee team, Coltescu said: “The black over there. This is not possible. Go and identify it. That guy, the black one. “
Basaksehir’s Senegalese forward Demba Ba could be heard protesting with the official in English, saying, “When you mention a white man, you never say ‘this white’, you just say ‘this guy’, so why when you mention a a black do you say ‘this black’?
The incident sparked reaction from around the world, with Rio Ferdinand, the former Manchester United and England defender and now a television pundit, saying on BT Sport in the UK: “I think we are at an unsettling turning point. Not a week goes by without a race-related incident.
“For the players to leave is a step in the right direction, but it cannot be left to them.”
Footballers and referees kneel on the pitch against racism before the UEFA Champions League Group H football match between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Istanbul Basaksehir FK [Xavier Laine/AFP]
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