Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League clash with Istanbul Basaksehir was abandoned on Tuesday night following an alleged racist incident.
Basaksehir’s players walked down the tunnel midway through the first half amid claims the fourth official, Sebastian Coltescu, had used a racist word.
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Pierre Webo, Basaksehir’s assistant manager, was sent off and it is claimed he was subjected to racist abuse by Coltescu.
The former Newcastle and Chelsea striker Demba Ba led the Turkish side’s protests before they took the decision to leave the pitch at the Parc des Princes.
Ba vociferously questioned the official over his choice of language when referring to players before being ushered away.
Basaksehir’s entire team then walked down the tunnel and were followed by their PSG counterparts.
The match was duly suspended for over an hour before the Turkish side tweeted that their players would not be returning.
The club posted on Twitter: “Our players has taken a decision NOT TO go back on the pitch after our Assistant Coach, Pierre Webo has been exposed to racist behaviour by the fourth official.”
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UEFA confirmed soon after that the fixture would be completed on Wednesday following consultation with both clubs.
The governing body said: “Following an incident at tonight’s UEFA Champions League match between Paris St 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. The kick-off has been set at 18:55 CET (5.55pm UK time).
“A thorough investigation on the incident that took place will be opened immediately.”
It had been goalless at the time of the incident with the result still having some bearing on the final positions in Group H.
RB Leipzig beat Manchester United to book their place in the next round with PSG also now going through. The French side will advance as the group winner if they beat the Turkish team.
Video footage on social media showed Ba confronting the fourth official over comments he made to Webo, the club’s assistant coach.
Be can be heard saying: “You never say ‘this white guy’, you say ‘this guy’, so why when you’re mentioning him… listen to me… why when you mention a black guy, why do you say ‘this black guy’.’
PSG star Kylian Mbappe tweeted his support to the Istanbul coach and posted: “SAY NO TO RACISM. M.WEBO WE ARE WITH YOU.”
President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan also tweeted about the incident and urged UEFA to take action.
He said: “I strongly condemn the racist remarks made against Pierre Webo, one of our representative Başakşehir’s technical team, and I believe that the necessary steps will be taken by UEFA.
“We are unconditionally against racism and discrimination in sports and all areas of life.”
When speaking about the incident on BT Sport, former England defender Rio Ferdinand said: “We’re at a disturbing tipping-point, not a week goes by without an incident involving race. We are at the point where something needs to be done.
“We are saying it all the time but the powers that be in this game can make a huge stand.
“The players walking off is a step in the right direction, but it can’t just be left to them.”
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