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The fourth official whose comment was at the centre of the suspension of the Champions League clash between Paris Saint-Germain and Istanbul Basaksehir on Tuesday has said he is not racist.
Sebastian Coltescu, from Romania, was accused by Basaksehir players and staff to have used a racial slur against the club’s assistant manager Pierre Webo, who is from Cameroon.
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Webo was then sent off at Parc des Princes by Romanian match referee Ovidiu Hategan.
“I am just trying to be good,” Coltescu told Romanian newspaper Prosport. “I will not read any news during these days.
“Anyone who knows me knows I’m not racist. At least, I hope that’s the case.”
The match, which was the two teams’ last game in Group H, was abandoned on 13 minutes as players from both sides refused to carry on following the incident.
The match was postponed until Wednesday after the Basaksehir players refused to play unless Coltescu was removed from all duties at the game.
On Wednesday, the match restarted on 13 minutes with both sets of players displaying anti-racism messages and taking a knee before kick-off.
PSG ran out 5-1 winners thanks to a Neymar hat-trick and two goals from Kylian Mbappe to finish as group winners ahead of RB Leipzig.