Players Walk Off the Pitch After Racist Insult From 4th Official

Author: Fran Attié

Tuesday, December 8th 2020 — Paris. As PSG and Istanbul Basaksehir faced off in the final match of Group H of the Champions League, the game was, more than anything, seen as a formality; PSG needing but a draw to qualify, while Istanbul looked to go home with their heads held high.

Not even 15 minutes in however, the match took on different proportions. After an argument between Basaksehir’s coaching staff and the 4th official concerning a possible infraction went awry, players and staff joined in protest over alleged racial insults from the official, Sebastien Coltescu, aimed at assistant coach Pierre Webó.

Amidst the commotion, the referee sought first to show Webó a red card for his complaints, instead of looking more carefully into the matter at hand. Immediately, Demba Ba, forward for Basaksehir, stepped in, objecting to the referee’s decision and uniting players from both teams to take a stand against the racist injury.

As the game was shown on the “Esporte Interativo” network in Brazil, the announcers refused to continue narrating had the match resumed. But eventually, the players, together, decided to walk off the pitch. It was commendable, historic. Hopefully, it may provoke change, or at least a forthright discussion, in a sport that too long has overlooked racism, labelling it as a fringe problem, instead of the systemic issue that it really is.

As of now, UEFA’s only pronouncement was to invite the teams to resume the match with a different 4th official…

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