On Tuesday, December 8th, the UEFA Champions League match between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Turkish side, Istanbul Basaksehir was abandoned after both sets of players staged a walkout following an alleged racist slur by the fourth official.
As earlier reported by Eko Hot Blog, the play was initially suspended for about two hours after a rift broke out in the 14th minute when Pierre Webo, Basaksehir’s assistant coach, was sent off.
Video footage ultimately emerged which seemed to show Webo, a former Cameroon international striker, accusing Romanian fourth official Sebastian Coltescu of using racist language.
Basaksehir substitute, Demba Ba could also be seen protesting on the touchline, while PSG players including Neymar and Kylian Mbappe appeared to be demanding an explanation. Demba Ba asked the official: “Why when you mention a black guy, do you have to say this black guy?”
Istanbul players then staged a walk off the pitch in the 23rd minute in protest, with PSG players following.
In the wake of the incident, UEFA consequently released a statement that investigations would be conducted to press to the discovery of what happened between Webo and the Romanian fourth official and that due sanction would follow in event of any culpability on the part of the Romanian.
The European football governing body also rescheduled the match to restart on Wednesday at 5.55pm with a new team of officials. It will kick off from 14th minute, the moment players walked off the field.
Both UEFA and FIFA and indeed other adjunct football governing bodies have shown demonstrated commitment towards stamping out racial abuse from the beautiful game, with several campaigns launched to whip global support against this global menace.
But at what point do we, those of African descent embrace our identity and refuse to view certain stereotypes as racial abuse?
The dramatic incident at the Parc De Princes began when the match official issued a red card to Webo, sending him off the touchlines. A visibly upset Webo could be seen arguing petulantly with some other officials and fellow Istanbul contingents who endured to calm the enraged former Cameroon international.
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As we’ll come to understand, Webo’s rage had stemmed from an alleged racist language by the fourth official rather than the sending off in itself. Former Chelsea striker, Demba Ba, who seemed to be in proximity to the incident, sheds ample light on what has transpired when he asks why Coltescu chose to refer to Webo as “this black guy”.
But then, beyond UEFA’s prissiness with rooting out all forms of racism in football, what can be deduced from this imbroglio is a total lack of pride in the black identity.
Quite frequently, blacks and generally people of colour have been culpable of referring to the caucasian race as “whites”. Does a caucasian necessarily feel racially abused when referred to as white? not necessarily; what is it about this colour ‘black’ then, that makes the African view it as a discriminatory tag?
While this is by no means an apologia for Coltescu, whose probe is apt given the circumstance, the Romanian could merely have innocuously made the reference out of an instinctual drive to pander towards common societal stereotypes rather than a flagrant attempt to brush the image of the Cameroonian coach.
Regardless of the eventuality of this situation, the countless #SayNoToRacism hashtag promoted by most Africans in the wake of this incident merely serves as an implicit admission that the black man harbours no inch of pride for his pigmentation.
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