Romanian officials face lesser charge in PSG-Basaksehir case

By: The Associated Press Posted: 9:32 AM CST Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021 Last Modified: 9:33 AM CST Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021

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NYON, Switzerland - After alleged racist abuse led to a Champions League game being stopped, UEFA opened disciplinary cases against two Romanian match officials on lesser charges Thursday.

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NYON, Switzerland - After alleged racist abuse led to a Champions League game being stopped, UEFA opened disciplinary cases against two Romanian match officials on lesser charges Thursday.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/02/2021 (2011 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

NYON, Switzerland – After alleged racist abuse led to a Champions League game being stopped, UEFA opened disciplinary cases against two Romanian match officials on lesser charges Thursday.

Paris Saint-Germain and Istanbul Basaksehir refused to continue playing on Dec. 8 because they believed fourth official Sebastian Coltescu had racially insulted the Turkish club’s assistant coach, Pierre Webo, who is Black.

Television footage showed Coltescu in a conversation with the other Romanian match officials saying “negru,” the Romanian word for black, to identify Webo.

Basaksehir's manager Okan Buruk, right, reacts next to Romanian 4th referee Sebastian Coltescu during the Champions League group H soccer match between Paris Saint Germain and Istanbul Basaksehir at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, Tuesday Dec. 8 , 2020. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)

The game was completed 24 hours later with a different set of match officials brought in from the Netherlands.

Romanian media reported on Thursday that UEFA concluded Coltescu did not use the word in a racist or discriminatory way.

UEFA later said proceedings were opened against Coltescu and second official Octavian Sovre for “a potential violation of Article 11 of the UEFA Disciplinary Regulations.”