Istanbul Basaksehir’s players, closely followed by their opponents Paris St Germain, walked off the pitch during a Champions League soccer game on Tuesday after the Turkish club accused a match official of racism.
Basaksehir’s assistant coach Pierre Webo was shown a red card for protesting against a refereeing decision and the Turkish side then alleged that the fourth official Sebastian Coltescu used a racist term towards the Cameroonian.
The players from both teams left the field after about 10 minutes of discussions with Romanian referee Ovidiu Hategan.
“A complaint from the Basaksehir bench after racist remarks by the fourth official were followed by a coming-together of all 22 players pitch-side,” PSG said in a statement.
“After 10 minutes of explanation, the referee invited both teams to return to their respective changing rooms.”
European soccer’s governing body UEFA, which announced that it will launch an investigation, said in a statement: “Following an alleged incident involving the 4th official, the match was temporarily suspended.”
Basaksehir added 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.”
The game, which was suspended in the 13th minute, did not resume and UEFA said the rest of the match at the Parc des Princes would be played on Wednesday at 1755 GMT.
