forward Neymar (C) is challenged by Istanbul Basaksehir’s Turkish
midfielder Mahmut Tekdemir (back) during the UEFA Champions League
group H football match between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and
Istanbul Basaksehir FK at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, on
December 9, 2020. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP)
Paris Saint-Germain beat Istanbul Basaksehir 5-1 on
Wednesday with Neymar scoring a hat-trick as both teams took a knee
before restarting their Champions League match suspended 24 hours
earlier in an unprecedented protest over an allegedly racist
comment by a match official.
The teams, who had joined forces on Tuesday to walk off the
pitch following the row, gathered around the centre circle prior to
the resumption and were joined by the match officials as they
kneeled in support of the Black Lives Matter cause.
forward Neymar (C) scores his second goal during the UEFA Champions
League group H football match between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and
Istanbul Basaksehir FK at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, on
December 9, 2020. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP)
Before that, they sported t-shirts with the slogan “No To
Racism” while warming up at the Parc des Princes, where large
banners in the empty stands carried the same message.
The game restarted where it had stopped the previous day, in the
14th minute, when a touchline argument erupted over accusations the
Romanian fourth official, Sebastian Coltescu, had described
Basaksehir’s Cameroonian assistant coach Pierre Webo as “black”, or
“negru” in Romanian.
Coltescu and the other Romanian match officials were replaced
for the restart by a new refereeing team headed by the Netherlands’
Danny Makkelie.
Already qualified for the last 16 thanks to Manchester United’s
defeat to RB Leipzig in Germany on Tuesday, PSG still needed to win
the restarted game to secure top spot in their group and cruised to
victory with Neymar outstanding.
Neymar hat-trick
He curled in a stunning opener before making it 2-0 and then won
a penalty which Kylian Mbappe converted for the third goal before
half-time.
Neymar, the world’s most expensive footballer, completed his
hat-trick with another brilliant hit after the interval, and Mbappe
got PSG’s fifth following a reply by Mehmet Topal for
Basaksehir.
The Turkish side had already been eliminated before this game
but they have left their mark on the Champions League with their
response to the alleged treatment of Webo, who was sent off as he
reacted furiously to the alleged comment.
That red card was suspended by UEFA pending a probe into the
matter, with European football’s governing body promising a
“thorough investigation”.
Basaksehir are understood to have close ties to Turkey’s
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and he got involved in the row on
Tuesday, tweeting that he “strongly condemns the racist
remarks”.
France’s sports minister Roxana Maracineanu, who was born in
Romania, praised the players’ “historic decision”.
It was an unprecedented, unified response by the teams, to what
Basaksehir midfielder Giuliano called a “disgraceful” comment from
the official.
“As a team and a group, we decided to protest because that is
unacceptable. Racism has to end,” Giuliano told Brazilian
media.
The row flared after Webo was shown the red card.
Television microphones in the empty stadium — matches are taking
place without spectators because of Covid-19 restrictions — picked
up a furious Webo repeatedly asking why a racist term had been used
to describe him.
In the exchange in question between the all-Romanian officiating
team, Coltescu said: “The black one over there. This is not
possible. Go and identify him. That guy, the black one.”
Basaksehir’s Senegalese forward Demba Ba, among the substitutes
for the away side, could be heard remonstrating with the official
in English, saying: “When you mention a white guy, you never say
‘this white guy’, you just say ‘this guy’, so why when you mention
a black guy do you say ‘this black guy?’”
‘Disturbing tipping point’
The incident drew reaction from around the world, with Rio
Ferdinand, the former Manchester United and England defender and
now a TV pundit, saying on BT Sport in the UK: “I think we are at a
disturbing tipping point. Not a week goes by without an incident
involving race.
“The players walking off is a step in the right direction, but
it can’t just be left to them.”
Ferdinand’s brother Anton was involved in a high-profile
incident in 2012 when Chelsea player John Terry was accused of
racially abusing him during a match in England.
Many athletes have taken a strong stand against racism since
Black Lives Matter protests flared around the world over the death
of George Floyd during his arrest in Minneapolis in May.
The Turkish champions had refused to restart the game on Tuesday
as long as fourth official Coltescu was still involved.
Read more https://swordpress.com.ng/2020/12/10/psg-beat-basaksehir-5-1-in-game-suspended-after-racism-walkout/