Players from Paris Saint-Germain and Istanbul Başakşehir warmed up wearing T-shirts with “No To Racism” written on them and then took a knee together with the match officials before their Champions League game resumed on Wednesday [Thursday NZ time].
The match was postponed on Tuesday [Wednesday NZT] when outraged players from both sides walked off the field early in the game, after alleging that fourth official Sebastian Coltescu of Romania had used a racial term when identifying Pierre Webo, a black assistant coach with Başakşehir.
Match officials also wore the T-shirts, which featured the club logos of both sides.
They then all gathered around the centre circle and took a knee to support the fight against racism. Many players raised their fists, including PSG star Neymar –who bowed his head pensively.
There were two banners side by side in the stadium with a message against racism, written in English and French, and another supporting Webo, who also wore the T-shirt when he warmed up with the squad.
The game restarted with the clock at 13 minutes, 30 seconds with a free kick for Başakşehir. That was the moment when play was suspended with the score at 0-0 after players walked off the field.
They were enraged at the language used by Coltescu when identifying Webo to referee Ovidiu Hategan, who had asked which assistant coach should be sent off.
Başakşehir coach Okan Buruk said “you are racist” to Coltescu, asking him to leave the field, while PSG striker Kylian Mbappe was heard saying he did not want to play unless Coltescu left.
New footage from broadcaster RMC on Wednesday shows Coltescu explaining to PSG’s sporting director Leonardo why he used the Romanian word “negru” – which means black – to describe Webo.
Television footage captured an exchange in which Hategan was told by Coltescu that Webo should be reprimanded for his behaviour on the sidelines following a heavy foul on one his team’s players.
“Go and give it (the red card) to the black one, this is not possible (tolerable), go and identify him, go verify, the black one over there,” Coltescu said, in Romanian, about Webo.
