PSG and Istanbul Basaksehir players walked off the pitch in protest on Tuesday night due to an alleged racist remark in their Champions League match.
Both sets of players walked off the Parc de Princes pitch after the 4th official was alleged to have made a racist remark towards the Basaksehir assistant, Pierre Webo.
Basaksehir substitute Demba Ba led the protests, with the official blaming the language barrier for his alleged remark.
The game was scoreless at the time, before UEFA announced that both teams had agreed to restart the game, with the official in question substituted.
PSG's players reportedly agreed they would not return to the pitch until they were satisfied Istanbul Basaksehir's players were happy to continue the game.
"Listen to me!"
Demba Ba furious at the officials in Paris before leading a player walk-off from both teams.
The game is currently suspended. #PSGIBFK | #UCL | #VMSport pic.twitter.com/xkd29JsoBM— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) December 8, 2020
Pitchside microphones captured the moment Ba confronted the official, with the striker heard to say:
"You never say 'This white guy', you say 'This guy'. So why when you mention a black guy you have to say 'this black guy'?"
PSG and Istanbul Basaksehir players leave pitch
The Romanian fourth official, Sebastian Coltescu tried to explain the situation, but details of what exactly he said are unclear on the recording.
Both sets of players walked off the pitch in protest, with reports that they refused to return until Coltescu was removed from the game.
RMC report that the 4th official in question will swap places with one of the VAR officials (ie he will remain involved). Basaksehir yet to confirm if they will restart
— Matt Spiro (@mattspiro) December 8, 2020
A statement from UEFA says that both teams agreed to restart the game after it was confirmed Coltescu would not be involved.
The European governing body say say they will now be investigating the alleged remark.
“Following an alleged incident involving the 4th official, the match was temporarily suspended. After consultation with both teams, it was agreed that the match would restart with a different 4th official. Uefa will thoroughly investigate the matter and further communication will be made in due course.”
This article was updated at 9.15pm
