Basaksehir storm off field and halt PSG Champions League clash after alleged racial abuse by official
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| Our assistant coach Pierre Webo was the victim of racism, but Webo was expelled from the game |
Tuesday's Champions League meeting between Paris Saint-Germain and Istanbul Basaksehir was plunged into chaos when the Turkish side stormed off the field just over 20 minutes into the first half, alleging that the club's assistant coach had been racially abused by the fourth official.
The Istanbul club went into the match knowing that their chances of advancing to either the Champions League or Europa League knockout stages were extinguished, having gone down 4-3 to RB Leipzig the previous week.
PSG, meanwhile, needed at least a point to progress in second place of Group H, depending on the result of Manchester United's clash against RB Leipzig.
Just 15 minutes into the game at Parc des Princes, though, the game was thrown into turmoil after a pitchside altercation.
Basaksehir assistant Pierre Webo, an ex-Cameroon international striker, was involved in a furious exchange with the fourth official, who had instructed the referee to send Webo off after he protested a call on the pitch.
Webo and his club accused the fourth official of racial abuse in how he identified the Basaksehir assistant to the match referee.
"Our assistant coach Pierre Webo was the victim of racism, but Webo was expelled from the game," the Turkish side explained on its official Twitter account.
✊🏻✊🏿 NO TO RACISM | #Respect pic.twitter.com/Ic1BzfANoi
— İstanbul Başakşehir (@ibfk2014) December 8, 2020
"The game has been stopped for a while."
Veteran forward Demba Ba, who started on the bench for the visitors on Tuesday, was also seen remonstrating with the official over his use of language, telling him: "You never say, 'This white guy, that white guy.'
"But when it's a black guy, you have to say, 'This black guy'."
Basaksehir's players indeed refused to continue playing, and after a short spell inactive on the pitch decided to retreat to the dressing rooms in protest.
PSG's stars followed suit in solidarity with their rivals, leaving the Champions League clash in limbo.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the president of Turkey, weighed in on the incident on Twitter, saying: "I strongly condemn the racist remarks made against Pierre Webo, one of our representatives of Basaksehir's technical team, and I believe that the necessary steps will be taken by UEFA.
"We are unconditionally against racism and discrimination in sports and all areas of life."