Champions League match abandoned after both teams walk off; UEFA investigating after play was halted when Pierre Webo, Basaksehir's assistant coach, was sent off; Turkish club accused the Romanian fourth official of making a racist remark
Wednesday 9 December 2020 13:55, UK
The Champions League match between Paris Saint-Germain and Istanbul Basaksehir was abandoned after both teams walked off the pitch following an alleged racist slur by the fourth official.
Play was initially suspended for almost two hours after a row initiated in the 14th minute when Pierre Webo, Basaksehir's assistant coach, was sent off.
Video footage emerged which appeared to show Webo, a former Cameroon international, accusing Romanian fourth official Sebastian Coltescu of using racist language.
Basaksehir substitute Demba Ba could be seen protesting on the touchline, while PSG players including Neymar and Kylian Mbappe also appeared to be demanding an explanation.
Demba Ba asked the official: "Why, when you mention a black guy, do you have to say this black guy?"
Istanbul players then walked off the pitch in the 23rd minute in protest, with PSG players following.
Basaksehir posted a message on their Twitter account which read: "NO TO RACISM #Respect." It was retweeted by PSG.
UEFA initially said the match would restart with a different fourth official "after consultation with both teams", but Basaksehir said their players decided not to return to resume the game after the incident.
The match will now restart on Wednesday at 5.55pm with a new team of officials - Dutch referee Danny Makkelie will take charge alongside assistants Mario Diks and Marcin Boniek, with Marco Di Bello and Maurizio Mariani in the VAR room and Bartosch Frankowsky as fourth official.
The game will kick off from the 14th minute, the moment the game was halted.
A second UEFA statement read: "Following an incident at tonight's UEFA Champions League match between Paris Saint-Germain FC and Istanbul Basaksehir FK, UEFA has - after discussion with both clubs - decided on an exceptional basis to have the remaining minutes of the match played tomorrow with a new team of match officials.
"A thorough investigation on the incident that took place will be opened immediately."
PSG said in a statement "all forms of racism go against the values held by Paris St Germain and the club's chairman, staff and players".
It added: "For more than 15 years Paris St Germain has led the fight against discrimination and continues to work to eradicate it in all forms. The capital club is today one of the most committed sports clubs striving to end all forms of violence and discrimination."
Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the alleged racist remarks and urged UEFA "to take the necessary measures".
Erdogan said on Twitter: "I strongly condemn the racist remarks made against Pierre Webo, member of the technical staff of Basaksehir, and I am convinced that UEFA will take the necessary measures."
The Romanian Football Federation told Sky Sports News it would wait for the outcome of UEFA's investigation before any action is taken.
French football journalist Jonathan Johnson, who was at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday night, said that Paris Saint-Germain players were quick to pick up the gravity of the situation and stand in solidarity with their opponents.
Johnson told Sky Sports News the involvement of both clubs' squads and staff in the incident was "extremely powerful" as high-profile players such as Kylian Mbappe and Neymar came out to reiterate there is no room for racism in the game.
"I don't think you could argue against the power of the images that we've seen," Johnson said. "You look at the way the Basaksehir players were very quick to come to the defence of their assistance coach.
"Demba Ba played an absolutely key role in that, but I would also say that there were players in the PSG team like Kylian Mbappe and Presnel Kimpembe who took the accusations very seriously and quickly and made it clear that they would be joining Basaksehir in leaving the pitch."
Johnson added the fact the alleged racist comment came from an official is "massively damaging" and says the visiting team's players had no intention to come back out after the interruption.
"The lack of communication from UEFA in the hours after the incident only led to the controversy surrounding all of this," he said.
"The fact that it's come from somebody who has that sort of power in a match, as opposed to one of the players or fans in the stadiums - which is obviously not possible at this moment in time because of the coronavirus situation - is hugely damaging.
"It's my understanding in the stadium on the night that there was no way that the teams would come back to the pitch and play with the current team of officials in place."
