A Romanian football official who referred to a black guy as a “black guy” during a Champions League game has been suspended and ordered to undergo a re-education course.
Yes, really.
During a December fixture between Paris Saint-Germain and Istanbul Basaksehir, Sebastian Coltescu was accused of racially abusing Basaksehir coach Pierre Webo by referring to him as the “black guy” or “ala negru” in Romanian.
Coltescu used the term “black guy” to single out Webo because all the other coaches were white.
The game was abandoned and Coltescu, who subsequently protested that he was “not racist,” was immediately suspended for 10 games.
? BREAKING ?
UEFA have suspended Romanian official Sebastian Coltescu until the end of the season following inappropriate behaviour in the Champions League match between PSG & Istanbul Basaksehir pic.twitter.com/z5g4pGjoet
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) March 8, 2021
That suspension has now been extended until the end of the football season after Coltescu was found to have breached Article 11(1) and and Article 6(1) of UEFA’s disciplinary regulations, which require officials to “behave in a professional and appropriate manner.”
The Romanian will also have to attend re-education classes to ensure he doesn’t commit another speech crime in future.
Both Coltescu and assistant referee Octavian Sovre “have been ordered to attend an educational programme before the end of June,” according to BBC Sport.
UEFA has also announced it will introduce training for match officials on the “use and sensitivity of language,” to prevent black people being referred to as black people again.
