UEFA vows to probe racist incident at PSG vs Istanbul, reschedules match

EUROPEAN football ruling body UEFA has condemned the racial discrimination incident that marred the Champions League match between Paris Saint-Germain and Istanbul Basaksehir in Paris on Tuesday night.

The body has also rescheduled the match for Wednesday night after both sets of players staged a walkout in protest.

The match was in its 14th minute when the fourth official was accused of racial discrimination against one of the officials of Istanbul Basaksehir.

This incensed the Turkish side’s bench, and when PSG players were told about the incident, they also decided to leave the field along with their opponents.

The fourth official had allegedly referred to former Cameroon striker Pierre Webo as ‘the black guy’ when the centre referee needed him to identify which of the officials needed to be cautioned following an incident.Istanbul Basaksehir’s Senegalese striker Demba Ba was heard clearly asking the fourth official why he had to use the word ‘black’ instead of just saying ‘this guy’.

Ba, clearly agitated, was heard saying in a raised voice: “You never this say ‘this white guy’, you say ‘this guy’, so why when you mention… listen to me… so why when you mention a black guy, you have to say ‘this black guy?'”

After walking out, the Istanbul Basaksehir players demanded that the fourth official had to be replaced before they would resume the match.

However, the matter remained unresolved late into the night, and the match was eventually abandoned.UEFA promised to look into the incident and then announced the time (6.55pm Nigerian time) it would resume.

“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,” the organisation tweeted. 

“Racism, and discrimination in all its forms, has no place within football. #NoToRacism.”

A new set of match officials will handle the match, which will resume from the 14th minute.

“UEFA has – after discussion with both clubs – decided on an exceptional basis to have the remaining minutes of the match played on Wednesday with a new team of match officials. The kick-off has been set at 18:55 CET.”

Fortunately, the outcome of the match has no bearing on which team qualifies for the knockout rounds after RB Leipzig’s 3-2 win over Manchester United confirmed the German side and PSG as the teams advancing.

A win for PSG will however make them the group winners.