PSG vs Istanbul Basaksehir: Romanian fourth official Sebastian Coltescu's Instagram hacked after racism row
PSG vs Istanbul Basaksehir: Romanian fourth official Sebastian Coltescu's Instagram hacked after racism row
The Instagram account of the fourth official in the UEFA Champions League match between Paris Saint-Germain and Istanbul Basaksehir has been apparently hacked as his profile picture was replaced by an image of Istanbul Basaksehir’s assistant manager Pierre Webo, whom Coltescu allegedly identified using the Romanian word for black.
As per reports, the hackers, who appeared to be Turkish, further changed Coltescu’s bio to include a “No To Racism” hashtag.
Coltescu’s alleged use of racism language triggered both Basaksehir and PSG walking off the pitch as a sign of protest at the Parc des Princes.
With the match paused at 24 minutes, the remaining 76 minutes of the Group H match between PSG and Istanbul Basaksehir has been rescheduled for Wednesday evening with a different set of UEFA refereeing team appointed for the encounter.
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Webo vocally protested a decision on the touchline during the first half of the match.
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 being reported that Coltescu saida Romanian word for black. Webo overheard the match official in an empty stadium and immediately accused Coltescu of racism and was shown a straight red card.
ALSO READ:PSG, Basaksehir stage Champions League walk-out over official's alleged racism
Former Chelsea forward Demba Ba, on the substitute bench for Istanbul Basaksehir, questioned Webo why he had used the discriminatory 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."'
Players and staff of both Basaksehir and PSG were pretty vocal about the incident and left the pitch after around 10 minutes of discussion with the main 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.' Basaksehir coach Okan Buruk was heard saying ‘you are racist’ to Coltescu.
After a long wait, the match was called off on Tuesday and will resume from the same point on Wednesday.
Istanbul Basaksehir took to Twitter: 'Our players have taken a decision NOT TO go back on the pitch after our Assistant Coach Pierre Webo has been exposed to racist behaviour by the 4th Official.'
The incident has led to staunch criticism of racial acts in the world of football with former England international Rio Ferdinand saying “football is at the tipping point” and higher authorities should take some strong action if they want to put an end to discrimination.