Football – Racist remarks: the PSG match will resume this Wednesday

Paris SG and Basaksehir Istanbul had been playing their Champions League match for less than a quarter of an hour when the match was interrupted amid accusations of racism brought by the Turks against the fourth referee, a first in the history of C1.

Between Basaksehir, already eliminated, and Paris SG, almost qualified for the round of 16, the score is still 0-0 and there has not yet been a clear opportunity.

On the ground, the atmosphere is tense. Neymar suffers fouls every time he has the ball. In the first quarter of an hour of play, two Basaksehir players, Mahmut Tekdemir (10th) then Rafael (12th), are sanctioned with a yellow card.

“Shame on you!” (“It’s shameful!”), Launched a defender of Basaksehir after a decision of the referee, Ovidiu Hategan.

The 40-year-old Romanian is a veteran of the Champions League, where he has refereed since 2011, with more than thirty matches to his name.

“Why do you say ‘This black’, why?”

But after another clash, this time involving Parisian defender Presnel Kimpembe, the tone rises on the Basaksehir sidelines.

Pierre Achille Webo, Cameroonian assistant to Turkish coach Okan Buruk, disputes a decision of the referee.

A discussion ensued, in Romanian, between Ovidiu Hategan and the fourth referee, Sebastian Coltescu, also Romanian.

The referee inflicts a red card on Webo, who protests in English, claiming to have heard “negro”, a term very steeped in racism in French and English, in the mouth of Sebastian Coltescu.

Tone up

Tension mounts and as the clock continues to tick, the players of both teams and the referee gather at the edge of the pitch.

According to televised images, the Senegalese Basaksehir Demba Ba, substitute, protests to the fourth referee. “You never say ‘that white’, you say ‘that one’, so when you talk about a black man, why do you say ‘that black?’ he gets carried away.

Sebastian Coltescu retorts by evoking the Romanian language, in which “negru” (“black”) does not have a racist connotation.

According to excerpts from the conversation between the two referees broadcast on television and translated by an AFP journalist, the fourth referee said in Romanian “The black over there. It is not possible. Go check who it is. That one, the black one ”.

Raised fists

After five minutes of floating, the players of the Turkish club decide to leave the lawn, followed by those of PSG, under some applause from the staff in the Parc des Princes behind closed doors.

“The fourth referee said ‘nigga’ in front of everyone! If the fourth referee is removed from the field, then we will resume. If the fourth referee stays on the pitch, then Basaksehir will not come back, ”club president Göksel Gümüsdag told Turkish TV channel TRT Spor.

The affair is racing on social networks, the Basaksehir tweeting the UEFA slogan “No to racism / Respect”, accompanied by emojis representing raised fists, white and black.

The indignant Turkish president

Players from all over Europe engage by sharing these fists: the Brazilian Everton Richarlison, then the Turks of the French Championship Umut Bozok (Lorient) and Yusuf Yazici (Lille).

Then the affair takes a political turn. After several ministers, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, known to be very close to the leaders of Basaksehir, “strongly condemns the racist remarks made against Pierre Webo, member of the technical staff of Basaksehir”. On Twitter, he said he was “convinced that UEFA will take the necessary measures”.

PSG players Presnel Kimpembe and Kylian Mbappé also denounce racism, the first by sharing on Instagram “No to racism”, the second by affirming “Mr. Webo we are with you ”, accompanied by a raised fist.

At the end of the evening, when the other group matches are already over, sealing the qualification of PSG whatever happens, the formalization arrives: the end of the match will be played the next day.

AFP

Posted: 12/08/2020, 9:48 p.m.