The fourth official accused of racially abusing Istanbul Basaksehir’s assistant manager has apparently had his Instagram account hacked.
Sebastian Coltescu’s profile picture was replaced by an image of Pierre Webo, whom Coltescu allegedly identified by using the word ‘negru’, the Romanian word for black.
The hackers, who appeared to be Turkish, also changed the Romanian referee’s biography to include a ‘No to Racism’ hashtag.
The Instagram account of the Romanian fourth official Sebastian Coltescu, accused of racially abusing Istanbul Basaksehir assistant coach Pierre Webo, has apparently been hacked with Webo’s face made the profile picture
Pierre Webo (right), Basaksehir’s assistant manager, was livid when he was allegedly identified as ‘the black one over there’ by the fourth official
The fourth official Sebastian Coltescu (above) was accused of using the word ‘negru’ – Romanian for ‘black’ – to identify Webo
A furious Webo is led away from the touchline by a member of Basaksehir’s backroom staff
The Instagram account isn’t verified and is private but appears to be that of Coltescu.
Coltescu’s alleged use of racist language led to both Basaksehir and their opponents Paris Saint-Germain walking off the field in protest and the abandonment of Tuesday night’s Champions League match at the Parc des Princes.
The Group H match has been rescheduled for Wednesday evening and will be overseen by a different UEFA refereeing team.
Webo vehemently 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’.
Former Chelsea striker Demba Ba (above in jacket) – a substitute for Basaksehir – was furious and confronted the officials
Both sets of players then left the pitch and returned to the dressing room in a united protest
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’.’
Basaksehir players on the team coach back to their hotel. The match will now be concluded on Wednesday with a different set of officials in charge
Within minutes of the incident, Basaksehir posted a picture of UEFA’s ‘No To Racism’ campaign
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.
Kylian Mbappe posted a message of support to the Basaksehir assistant manager later on
Neymar, one of those leading the protests, tweeted a picture of himself and wrote: ‘BLACK LIVES MATTER’
Istanbul Basaksehir then said on 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.’
There was speculation that the match would restart at 10pm local time but PSG players were left waiting for the Turkish side in the tunnel.
Basaksehir players reportedly refused to restart if Coltescu continued to participate in the match as a VAR (Video Assistant Referee), meaning he would have continued to make crucial decisions away from the touchline.
A new fourth official on the touchline would have required Coltescu to continue as a VAR with UEFA rules demanding two officials be in the video review area. However, there was nobody else to fulfil the role.
AS and L’Equipe both dedicated their front pages to the scenes at the Parc des Princes
The front pages in Turkey also focused on the events in Paris, one labelling it a ‘disgrace’
Demba Ba and Marquinhos planned for both teams to walk back out onto the pitch, hand in hand. But a number of Basaksehir players were against the idea and they were later seen leaving the stadium and boarding the team bus to return to their base for the evening.
A UEFA statement later read: ‘Following an incident at tonight’s UEFA Champions League match between Paris Saint-Germain and Istanbul Basaksehir, UEFA has – after discussion with both clubs – decided on an exceptional basis to have the remaining minutes of the match played tomorrow with a new team of match officials.
‘The kick-off has been set at 18:55CET. A thorough investigation on the incident that took place will be opened immediately.’