PSG and Istanbul Basaksehir players accused Romanian fourth official Sebastian Coltescu of racially abusing Basaksehir's assistant coach

 

The Champions League clash between Paris Saint-Germain and Istanbul Basaksehir was abandoned on Tuesday night as both sets of players walked off after fourth official Sebastian Coltescu was accused of racism.

The Group H encounter was suspended midway through the first half after Pierre Webo, Basaksehir's black assistant manager, vehemently protested a decision on the touchline. 

As the referee came over, footage appeared to show Coltescu identifying Webo by saying: 'The black one over there. Go and check who he is. The black one over there, it's not possible to act like that'. 

It is believed Coltescu said 'negru', the Romanian word for black.

A furious Webo heard this and immediately accused Coltescu of racism. He had to be restrained by other members of the coaching staff as he was shown a straight red card. 

Ex-Chelsea striker Demba Ba, a substitute for the Turkish side, charged in the direction of Coltescu to question why he had used the word to identify Webo. 

He said: '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".' 

Coltescu is a top-flight referee in Romania, but is reportedly officiating in his final European campaign after being demoted by FIFA. 

Last night he apologised, saying: 'Sorry for the misunderstanding. My intention was never racism. 

'In such an environment, people sometimes cannot express their feelings correctly and can be misunderstood. I apologise on behalf of the UEFA Champions League. I hope you understand.' 

Players and staff from both teams then got involved, and the Turkish side left the pitch after around 10 minutes of discussions with referee Ovidiu Hategan.

TV footage also showed PSG's French defender Presnel Kimpembe saying: 'Is he serious? We are heading in. We're heading in. That's it, we're heading in.' 

PSG stars Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Marquinhos were all seen on the touchline in discussion with Coltescu. Basaksehir coach Okan Buruk could be heard yelling 'you are racist' to Coltescu.

PSG players immediately followed their Turkish counterparts down the tunnel with the game at Parc des Princes suspended at 0-0.

After a lengthy delay, the game was called off and the remaining minutes will now be played on Wednesday at 6:55pm local time with a new refereeing team in charge led by Holland's Danny Makkelie.