Sensational Gameplay: PSJ vs. Istanbul Bashakşehir
The Champions League match between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Istanbul Başakşehir, played on December 8, 2020, was marred by an unfortunate incident involving racism. The game, which ended with a convincing 5-1 victory for PSG, was halted after the fourth official, Romanian referee Sebastian Colțescu, allegedly used a racial slur towards Istanbul Başakşehir assistant coach Pierre Webó.
According to reports by Almaty.tv citing euronews.com, Colțescu referred to Webó, who is of Cameroonian descent, as "the black guy" in Romanian. This phrase is considered a racial slur, causing outrage among the Istanbul team. In response, the players walked off the pitch in protest, prompting PSG to follow suit. The match was subsequently abandoned and rescheduled to be resumed the next day.
The incident brought attention to the ongoing issue of racism in football. The players' decisive action in leaving the field highlighted the seriousness of the offense and underscored the importance of combating racism in the sport.
UEFA, the governing body of European football, has appointed a commission to investigate the incident. The commission's mandate includes investigating allegations of racism during the match. This incident emphasizes UEFA's zero-tolerance policy towards racism or discrimination.
However, as of now, no further public details have been released about the investigation's outcome or any disciplinary actions taken specifically regarding this incident. Despite this, the event remains one of the important moments that raised awareness and condemnation of racism in European football competitions.
[1] Source: Almaty.tv (citing euronews.com)
- The Champions League match between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Istanbul Başakşehir, reporting racism as the central issue, sparked high-profile debate in general-news and crime-and-justice circuits of the European-leagues.
- The incident, classified as a racial slur in Romanian, concerning Pierre Webó, an assistant coach of Istanbul Başakşehir of Cameroonian descent, has launched a new wave of discussions on the persisting racism problem within sports, particularly football.
- As the Sebastian Colțescu investigation into his actions regarding the December 8, 2020 Champions League match between PSG and Istanbul Başakşehir continues, the ongoing debate in sports circles focuses on the importance of maintaining a zero-tolerance policy towards racism and discrimination, emphasizing accountability in crime-and-justice sectors.
