Football: President Erdogan blames UCL incident on France's 'racist discourse'

The Champions League game between Paris Saint-Germain and Basaksehir was postponed when players walked off the field on Tuesday after alleging that fourth official Sebastian Coltescu of Romania used a racial term when identifying a Black assistant coach. Players from the Turkish team were furious after assistant coach Pierre Webo was shown a red card by referee Ovidiu Hategan of Romania at Parc des Princes, saying Coltescu had used a racial term to describe Webo, who is from Cameroon before he was sent off. Erdogan blamed the incident on France's "racist stance and racist discourse" even though no French official was accused of racism. "The incident is a new expression of France's recent especially racist stance and racist discourse," Erdogan said. "This approach is unpardonable." Speaking before departing to a visit to Azerbaijan, Erdogan praised Basaksehir for withdrawing from the game and displaying a "determined stance." He claimed the Basaksehir refused to return to the game even after the Romanian referee was pulled out, forcing UEFA officials to remove all four referees.