“Anyone who knows me knows that I am not a racist!”

Sebastian Coltescu starred in a scandalous incident at PSG-Basaksehir. The fourth official referred to Pierre Webó, second coach of the Turkish team, as follows: “Throw the black out.” The commotion caused by the racist episode ended with both teams leaving the Parque de los Príncipes and the postponement of the match to this Wednesday. The reactions were immediate, the world press was a clamor, but now we know the feelings of the main protagonist of the night.

In statements collected by the medium ProSport, Coltescu called his relatives after the meeting to explain his feelings and his version of what happened: “I'm just trying to be good. I am not going to read any press sites these days. Anyone who knows me knows that I am not a racist! At least , I hope so”, confessed the referee, as well have shared Coltescu's relatives with the Romanian newspaper.

“We cannot make any statement”

Ovidiu Hategan, the head referee of the contest, he was contacted by the French media europe1.fr and he claimed to be shocked by what happened, although he could not go further. “We cannot make any statement, we must first speak to UEFA. Normally, I would answer you, but tonight I cannot. Obviously, we are devastated, but please respect our silence and understand the situation.”, he claimed.

The Romanian Federation, for his part, has claimed to be waiting for the UEFA report before making decisions regarding what happened. The players refused to return to the pitch if Coltescu was still part of the refereeing team, while Kylian Mbappé was clear: “If he said that, he has to go.” For the moment, The match will be led on its restart (at 6:55 p.m.) by a different referee quartet, led by the Dutch Danny Makkelie.

“Action will be taken”

Likewise, Ionut Stroe, the Minister of Sports of Romania, has asked, in statements collected by the agency EFE, “apologies on behalf of the Romanian people for this unfortunate incident”. In addition, it states that it “firmly condemns any type of expression or statement that may be considered racist or discriminatory.” He ended his speech as follows: “Sport is about something completely different, about work, ambition, fair play. I hope we don't get to a diplomatic scandal.” As well as pointed out that “Action will be taken” when UEFA “really says what happened”.