– Totally sick – VG

Late on Tuesday night, UEFA announced that the match will be played with new referees on Wednesday night starting in. 6:55 PM Norwegian time, and that the episode will be thoroughly investigated.

Fredrik Gulbrandsen played from the beginning for the Turkish club. Before the fourth was played, the situation arose that created chaos in the Parc des Princes in Paris.

– Absolutely ill, Gulbrandsen tells VG a couple of hours after the scandal broke out in the final match of the Champions League group stage.

Assistant coach Pierre Webo is said to have been the subject of a racist comment from the fourth official in connection with his expulsion from the bench for Basaksehir.

The television footage of the match, with good sound as there were of course no spectators present, left no doubt as to what Webo thought was exposed.

– Why did you say ‘black’, why did you say ‘black’, Webo repeated several times to quarterback Sebastian Colţescu of Romania.

Substitute Demba Ba also reacted violently to the fourth official, confronting him with what he allegedly said against Webo.

One theory is that the Romanian referee team has communicated using the word “negru” – which means “black” – when the fourth official should have indicated who should receive a red card in the Basaksehir camp.

According to Romanian journalist Emanuel Rosu said the fourth judge, which can be translated as “He answered there. Go and see who he is. There he answered, it is not possible to behave like that.”

It was in the 13th minute that Fredrik Gulbrandsen was fouled by PSG’s Presnel Kimpembe, prompting backlash from the Turkish bench.

In the riots that followed, the referee handed Webo a red card.

– We don’t accept you, we don’t love you. You are a racist, we don’t love you, Istanbul Basaksehir coach Okan Buruk shouted at the fourth official.

Gulbrandsen was also involved in a heated discussion with PSG coach Thomas Tuchel and the Norwegian forward explained the following to Tuchel while gesturing:

– I didn’t hear him say that. But he said he said it.

The Istanbul Basaksehir players could smell victory in the air. After a few minutes, they left the field and walked through the locker room. The club allegedly refused to send the players onto the field before the fourth official was withdrawn. They later confirmed Twitter that they weren’t going to send the players back to the field.

According to a statement from PSG, the players of both teams received an explanation that lasted about ten minutes, before entering their respective dressing rooms, writes Reuters. Furthermore, the club writes that they strongly dissociate themselves from all forms of racism.

UEFA is said to have tried to transfer the fourth official to the VAR bus, but the Turkish team refused to accept it.

Late on Tuesday night, PSG star forward Kylian Mbappé posted the following message Twitter:

“Say no to racism! M. Webo we support you.”

Turkish President Recep Erdogan has also written on Twitter about the episode in Paris:

“I strongly condemn the racist outbursts against Pierre Webo, and I believe that UEFA will take the necessary action. We unequivocally oppose racism and discrimination in sport and in all aspects of life.”

Norwegian observer judge

Former referee Jon Skjervold was appointed as UEFA’s observer referee for the match.

– I am in the stadium because I have an official UEFA position, but I cannot say anything about the situation. UEFA will have to comment on this, Skjervold told VG on Tuesday night.

In the second group match, RB Leipzig beat Manchester United 3-2, knocking Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s men out of the tournament.

During 2020, there have been a number of cases of racism in relation to both Norwegian and international football matches. Amahl Pellegrino became a victim when Kristiansund met Aalesund earlier in the month. Vålerengas Ousmane Camara exposed to racist screams and called “monkey” during a match against Sandefjord.

Last week, Edson Cavani received harsh criticism for a post on Instagram. The Uruguayan later apologized for the wording, which could be misunderstood.

P.S.! Webo is 38 years old and has played 58 international matches for Cameroon. The former striker has played in Mallorca, Fenerbahçe and Istanbul Basaksehir, where he became an assistant coach in 2019.

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