PSG vs Basaksehir restarts from 14th minute as stars make anti-racism gesture
PSG vs Istanbul Basaksehir has resumed from the 14th minute this evening after Tuesday's Champions League clash was suspended.
The first game was called off after the fourth official allegedly used a term towards the Istanbul Basaksehir bench.
Basaksehir assistant manager Pierre Webo was sent off after 14 minutes after words were exchanged with fourth official Sebastian Coltescu from Romania.
Reports suggest the official made a racist remark, before coaches and players stepped in.
Istanbul Basaksehir striker Demba Ba was seen clashing with the official in question.
“(When you mention a white guy) you never say ‘this white guy’ you say ‘this guy’ so when you mention a black guy, do you have to say ‘this black guy," Ba could be heard saying."
Istanbul Basaksehir first left the pitch, before PSG followed suit.
The former's twitter account swiftly posted a tweet saying: "NO TO RACISM."
PSG's account then tweeted: "The @ibfk2014 players decide to go back to the locker room, the Parisians follow them. (0-0)."
Both sets of players have been praised for their actions in the aftermath.
This evening players kneeled around the centre-circle as they stood firm against racism.
The match was then restarted from the 14th minute, with Istanbul Basaksehir taking a free-kick from inside their own half.
Neymar scored PSG's opening goal after nine minutes.
Kick It Out chair Sanjay Bhandari today said: "I'm really saddened to see that and deeply disturbed that it's come from a match official.
"I think the heartening thing was the reaction of both sets of players walking off the pitch. We saw this a few weeks ago in the United States, with Landon Donovan leading his team off the pitch.
"I think that genie is out of the bottle. We saw Darren Lewis on one of your programmes on Sunday talking about that and encouraging the players, that if they face that kind of abuse… your obligation is not to just stay there and entertain.
"You can use your power to walk off the pitch. I think the players did the right thing and in future they'll feel more confident to do that if something similar happens again."
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