[Referee News] UEFA will rule on alleged racial discrimination by the fourth official in the UEFA Champions League Paris vs. Istanbul match

In the sixth round of the UEFA Champions League group stage this season, Paris Saint-Germain vs. Istanbul, Constantin Sebastian Colţescu, who is the fourth official in this game, Due to suspicion of racial discrimination, which led to the strike in Istanbul, UEFA had to change the referee team and step back one day.

According to the Romanian sports newspaper ProSport, UEFA will make a ruling in favor of Romanian referee Coleccu and his colleagues.

UEFA conducted an investigation on the second day after the suspension of the game, and it seems to have determined that Koretzcu, the fourth official in the field, is not suspected of clan discrimination.

The following is what the official UEFA inspector wrote in the report:

"Based on the available video and audio evidence, it is determined that Koreccu and Ovidiu Hategan use the Romanian "negru" "To identify the second coach, Mr. Basaksehir Webo, which translates to "the black one" in English. According to the linguistic report, this Romanian language has no derogatory or negative meaning. In addition, the most relevant English dictionary clearly states that it is used as an adjective The term "black" is derived from the Romanian language mentioned above and is not offensive. In addition, the term "black" is widely used by anti-racist organizations and their millions of followers precisely to combat racism. Therefore, "negru" Although the word "" may be considered controversial in the context in which it is said, and due to the phonetic similarity between the word "negru" and the derogatory "discriminatory" English term, it does not constitute a punishable behavior.

UEFA disciplinary investigation and hearing will be held soon and a formal decision will be made.