[ad_1]
content
The racism incident in the Champions League match between Paris St-Germain and Basaksehir sparked many reactions.
In the match between Paris St-Germain and Basaksehir Istanbul, the 14th minute only ran when the fourth official let the situation get worse with the “N-word”. Pierre Webo, the Turkish assistant coach, accused the Romanian referee of racism.
His teammates stood together behind Webo and refused to continue the game. The PSG players did the same as their opponents. On Tuesday night, UEFA announced that the game would continue on Wednesday at 6:55 pm from the 18th minute. An investigation was also launched.
The incident at the Parc des Princes in Paris provoked many reactions. Especially in social networks, clubs, individual players and government representatives expressed solidarity with the alleged victim of racism.
French Sports Minister Roxana Maracineanu writes on Twitter: “Tonight the athletes, the athletes made a historic decision on an attitude that they deemed unacceptable … I can only applaud the strong symbolism of their gesture and their solidarity.”
Turkish head of state Recep Tayyip Erdogan also spoke:
We are unconditionally against racism and discrimination in sport and in all areas of life.
Kylian Mbappé and Neymar also insisted on making a statement. PSG’s top two stars witnessed the racism incident first hand.
Under the hashtag #NoToRacism, Uefa also commented on the scandal on Tuesday night:
“Racism and discrimination in any form have no place in football,” wrote the European Football Union on Twitter.
In the parallel match in Group H, RB Leipzig beat Manchester United 3-2 and thus secured their ticket to the knockout stages of the Champions League. The racism incident, however, clouded the joy of the “policemen” for his sporting success. Coach Julian Nagelsmann condemned the events in Paris in the strongest terms:
We live in a colorful society, that’s good, something like that shouldn’t happen, not on the football field or anywhere else.
The accused asks for forgiveness
Shortly before midnight, assistant referee Sebastian Coltescu, suspected of racism, expressed his regret over the incident. “My intention was never racism. In such an environment, people sometimes cannot express their feelings correctly and they can be misinterpreted. I apologize on behalf of the Champions ”, wrote the Romanian on Twitter.
