Romanian fourth official at the centre of the Champions League walk-off ‘has called Demba Ba to apologise’, the Istanbul Basaksehir striker reveals… with a former team-mate acting as a mediator while official DENIED that he is racist
- Istanbul Basaksehir’s match against PSG was suspended after alleged racism
The Romanian fourth official at the centre of the Champions League racism storm last week has apologised to Demba Ba, the Istanbul Basaksehir forward has said.
The Turkish club’s Champions League tie against PSG last week had to be suspended after Sebastian Coltescu allegedly used a racist remark to identify Cameroonian assistant coach Pierre Webo.
Both sets of players walked off the pitch as a result and the match had to be completed 24 hours later with a different set of officials in charge of proceedings.
Demba Ba (right) has revealed Sebastian Coltescu (left) has apologised to him for last week
Istanbul Basaksehir’s match against PSG was suspended after Coltescu allegedly used a racist remark to identify assistant coach Pierre Webo (above)
It is believed Coltescu said ‘negru’, the Romanian word for black, leading Ba, a substitute for the Turkish champions, charged in the direction of the official to question why he had used the word to identify Webo.
He said: ‘You never say “this white guy”, you say “this guy”, so why when you’re mentioning him… listen to me… why when you mention a black guy, why do you say “this black guy”.’
Now, in quotes carried by Turkish newspaper Hurriyet, former Newcastle and Chelsea striker Ba said that Coltescu has now apologised for his remarks.
Ba confronted Coltescu why he had used such remarks to talk about the Cameroonian
Now Ba has revealed that Coltescu apologised to him in a conversation held over the phone
‘The referee, Sebastian Coltescu, called and said that he is not a racist man,’ Ba is quoted as saying. ‘He apologised for what happened
‘Someone I could not say no to called me and told me that the referee wanted to talk to me. I said ok, then Coltescu called me.
‘He said he was sorry for what has happened and stressed that he is not a racist man,’ added the player, noting that ‘the case is closed for him.’
The conversation was reportedly mediated by Ba’s former team-mate Ousmane N’Doye (right)
The conversation between Ba and Coltescu was reportedly mediated – as the former hinted at in his comments – by the Senegalese’s former international team-mate Ousmane N’Doye,
In quotes attributed to the Romanian press, the retired ex-defensive midfielder said: ‘Demba Ba is from Senegal like me. I made them talk.
‘They both said, ‘He is a good man’ about each other. Ba did not accuse the referee of racism.’
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