Istanbul Basaksehir stars and staff have argued angrily with Champions League officials before leaving the pitch against Paris St. Germain, posting an anti-racism tweet after a coach was allegedly referred to by his skin color.
The visitors stunned viewers by walking off in Paris after an allegation of racism against one of the officials in the first half, when former Chelsea striker Demba Ba was seen pointing and arguing with one of the refereeing team while a crowd including Brazil striker Neymar tried to discover what had happened.
There were unconfirmed reports of racism after assistant coach Pierre Webo was sent off, and both teams departed back down the tunnel after apparently deciding they were unhappy with the conduct of the officials.
As online footage was watched by more than a million people on Twitter within minutes, Fabrizio Romano, a reporter with more than 2.2 million followers, wrote: “What a shame in Paris.
pic.twitter.com/BRFeI10IJD
✊?✊? NO TO RACISM | #Respectpic.twitter.com/Ic1BzfANoi
A closer look at the incident at the Parc des Princes involving Başakşehir coach Pierre Webó and the fourth official. #beINUCL#UCL ? HD11Watch – https://t.co/hkoevnV6B4pic.twitter.com/fQt5yG3eND
“The fourth official said ‘the black guy’ when indicating to the referee who should be booked on Istanbul’s bench.
“Istanbul Basaksehir walk off the pitch for racism. [They were saying] ‘why you call him black, man? Istanbul players are literally furious.”
The official team account then tweeted UEFA’s anti-racism logo, which includes the word “respect” in capital letters, repeating the words “no to racism” in their own post.
What a shame in Paris. 4th ref said “the black guy” when indicating to the ref who should be booked on Istanbul’s bench. Istanbul Basaksehir walks off the pitch for racism. “Why you call him black man?!”, Istanbul players are literally furious. ? #UCL#PSGIBFK
Thats not racist, he’s being descriptive. No different to saying the bald one, the black haired one, the bearded one, the short one, the tall one etc etc etc
I’m not racist at all but i feel like this isn’t something to walk off to…
Fans were divided amid the confusion, with some calling the scenes “disgusting if true” and others questioning whether Basaksehir should have walked off.
“Demba Ba is the f*cking man,” said one account, accompanying its post with the footage of veteran Ba pointing his finger.
The Instagram account of 4th official Sebastian Colţescu has been hacked & the bio has been replaced with the #notoracism hashtag. pic.twitter.com/jskHCNsgMx
As news of the scandal spread across the world, Paris appeared to be ready to return to the pitch for the final group stage game of their Champions League season.
Basaksehir seemed more reluctant, with no sign of their players re-emerging from their locker room more than half an hour after the initial stoppage.
