UEFA suspended Romanian referee Sebastian Coltescu until the end of the season, accused of uttering a racist term during the Champions League match between PSG and Istanbul Basaksehir on December 8, which was interrupted by the players.
Fourth referee of the match, Sebastian Coltescu was sanctioned for "inappropriate behavior", as was his compatriot Octavian Sovre, assistant referee punished more lightly by a "reprimand", after the assistant coach of the Turkish club, Cameroonian Pierre Achille Webo, was indignant at having been designated as "the black" in Romanian ("negru") by one of the two men.
By their behavior, the two men violated article 11 of the disciplinary regulations of the UEFA, and article 6 of the regulations for the referees, which obliged them to “behave in an appropriate manner”, specified the authority. organizer of the Champions League.
On the other hand, UEFA considered that the two referees did not violate article 14, which, for its part, prohibits any “racist or discriminatory” behavior.
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UEFA orders the two referees to follow "an educational program" by the end of June, the objective and content of which are not specified.
The UEFA disciplinary committee adds that this incident shows that "officials must be properly and specifically trained to better choose the language and words used in competitions".
And this in order to "avoid situations" like that of PSG-Basaksehir.
One way to plead the error of language rather than racism.
Assistant coach Pierre Achille Webo suspended a game
The disciplinary committee also suspended Pierre Achille Webo, Istanbul's assistant coach Basaksehir, for "unsportsmanlike conduct".
The Cameroonian coach had indeed received a red card for contesting an arbitration decision.
It was after this fact of the match that he heard the fourth referee call him "negru".
After hearing the words of the referee, the players of both clubs had decided, together, to stop playing, in protest, and to leave the field.
A historic first that had a lot of echo, in the world of football and beyond.
The match, stopped after a quarter of an hour of play, finally resumed the next day, with other referees, for a victory (5-1) for PSG.
