Paris Saint-Germain vs İstanbul Başakşehir was overshadowed by allegations of racism on Tuesday night.
The Champions League clash at the Parc des Princes was halted during the opening exchanges when Başakşehir coach Pierre Webó was alleged to have been subjected to racist abuse.
Demba Ba was one of the players seen passionately reacting to the episode, which is said to revolve around Webó being referred to by his skin colour.
Alleged racist incident
Eventually, the squads of both clubs agreed to exit the pitch and UEFA took the decision to suspend the fixture until the following night where an alternate refereeing team would be deployed.
UEFA released an official statement noting: "Following an alleged incident involving the 4th official, the match was temporarily suspended.
"After consultation with both teams, it was agreed that the match would restart with a different 4th official."
Fourth official under fire
As the statement explains, the Romanian fourth official on hand in the French capital is at the centre of the racism allegations and was clearly confronted by Ba before the game was halted.
Constantin Coltescu is the official in question. If found guilty, according to the Guardian, he could face a ban from UEFA totalling a minimum of ten games.
The punishment is relevant to anybody who 'insults the human dignity of a person… on whatever grounds, including skin colour, race, religion, ethnic origin, gender or sexual orientation' under Article 14 of Uefa’s disciplinary regulations.
Coltescu's reported reaction
However, while UEFA's reactionary proceedings take shape, information surrounding Coltescu's reaction to the incident has been reported in the Romanian press on Wednesday.
That's because ProSport, Romania's second-most read sports publication, released what they claim to be exclusive information of what Coltescu told relatives in the aftermath of the incident.
Marca have translated his comments as: "I just try to be good. I'm not going to read any news sites these next few days. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm not racist! At least that's what I hope."
We now await the proceedings and results of the UEFA investigation where Coltescu may well be asked to provide an official statement surrounding the events that took place in Paris this week.
No room for racism
If anybody is found to have been guilty of racist abuse, then it will be a sad day for world football.
There is no place for racism in football or society - and we hope that if any good can possibly come out of the horrible scenes in Paris, it's that it encourages the authorities to better tackle the issue through education and defiance.
Everyone here at GIVEMESPORT condemns racism and all the foul rhetorics of discrimination.
