Ramón Fuentes claims in the ‘Sport’ newspaper that UEFA is about to complete the investigation procedure into the alleged racism case in the Champions League game between PSG and Istanbul Basaksehir. The conclusion is that there was no xenophobic comment, although there was an inappropriate attitude.
UEFA does not believe referee Constantin Coltescu was racist when he called Pierre Webó “black” in the Champions League group stage match between PSG and Istanbul Basaksehir. The institution recognizes that this is an expression that could have been spared and that it is inappropriate, but not racist.
This is the conclusion that the European body will soon communicate and that Ramón Fuentes puts forward in the newspaper ‘Sport’. Two months ago, the institution opened a procedure to investigate what had happened during this meeting to make decisions.
The match took place on December 9, 2020. The fourth referee, Coltescu, used the term “black” in Romanian to identify one of the visiting staff who complained and his colleague, the central referee, Ovidiu Hategan, had to warn.
Such confusion was created by complaints on the pitch that the match had to be suspended and resumed the next day with another referee. Even the PSG players refused to continue the match. The investigation into the whole case, which is about to be officially concluded, will characterize the referee’s attitude as inappropriate, but not racist.