Football came to a standstill in Paris on Tuesday night when both Paris Saint-Germain and Istanbul Basaksehir's players walked off to the field after the fourth official in their UEFA Champions League match allegedly made a racist remark. Here is what was reportedly said, and what happens next.
Click through the gallery above to see some images of the heated and controversial incident.
What happened?
The match between PSG and Istanbul Basaksehir came to a screeching halt on Tuesday when players from both sides walked off the field following comments reportedly made by UEFA's fourth official.
The incident occurred just before the 14th minute, and took place after the match referee ran over to the sideline to show Basaksehir assistant manager Pierre Webo a red card for an indiscretion.
Things then escalated after the referee asked the fourth official Sebastian Coltescu to identify who he needed to show the red card to, with the Romanian assistant reportedly referring to Webo's race as a way of pointing him out.
Coltescu's comment infuriated Istanbul Basaksehir substitute Demba Ba, who confronted him, as could be seen in a video that has since gone viral on social media. Ba, a former Newcastle United and Chelsea striker, is believed to have said to the assistant: "Why, when you mention a black guy, you have to say 'This black guy?'"
Senegal & Istanbul Basaksehir player Demba Ba doing the damn thing after a match official is said to have made a racist remark towards Pierre Webo pic.twitter.com/nELQZfLNni
— Samira Sawlani (@samirasawlani) December 8, 2020
Webo, the target of the alleged racist abuse, could reportedly be heard saying: "Why you say negro?" repeatedly, according to Euronews.
Istanbul Basaksehir players then left the field and walked down the tunnel, with their PSG counterparts following them, and they later refused to resume the game until Coltescu was replaced in his fourth official role.
?????? NO TO RACISM | #Respect pic.twitter.com/Ic1BzfANoi
— Istanbul Basaksehir (@ibfk2014) December 8, 2020
It was claimed during the suspension of the match that the fourth official was going to be replaced by a VAR official, which would have seen Coltescu replace him in the VAR box, a proposal that was rejected by the players.
What happens next?
The match is now officially rescheduled for 9 December, and will resume from the 14th minute.
UEFA also released a statement on Twitter: "UEFA is aware of an incident during tonight's Champions League match between Paris Saint-Germain and Istanbul Basaksehir and will be conducting a thorough investigation.
"Racism, and discrimination in all its forms, has no place within football."
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The European football governing body also confirmed the match would resume on Wednesday.
