The image went around the world. A few seconds before the PSG players, Neymar and Kylian Mbappé in the lead, and those of Istanbul decide to return to the locker room during the Champions League match on December 8 at the Parc des Princes, the face-to-face between Demba Ba and Sebastian Coltescu, the fourth referee, made an impression. In an unprecedented exchange, the Senegalese striker had told the Romanian that he would never have used the terms of “white guy” (“white man”) if Pierre Achille Webo, the Istanbul deputy he wanted to expel after having designated him as “black guy” (“black man”), had had white skin.
A week after the shock caused by the stoppage of the match following this racism accusation, Demba Ba and Sebastian Coltescu are said to have spoken and reconciled. In an interview with the Romanian site sport.ro, the former Senegalese international Ousmane N’Doye, who played for many years in Romania, explains how he put the two men in touch.
“I know how Romania works,” N’Doye said. If something happens to someone you know, you need to talk to them. I found Coltescu’s number, I told him I was with him. I know he’s not racist at all. It was a misunderstanding. “
N’Doye then called his friend Demba Ba to explain the situation to him. The former Chelsea striker then agreed to have the Romanian referee call him. What the latter did. “They talked and got on really well,” says N’Doye. The two called me back afterwards to tell me that they were very happy. Demba told me that Sebi is a very good man, as is Coltescu about him. Demba thought the word noir was not to be used in the stadium. He didn’t say it was racism but that you couldn’t use that word in the stadium and Sebi understood that. “
N’Doye’s conclusion: “I don’t think this is a big deal. It remains to be seen what UEFA, which has launched a “thorough” investigation into the incident, will think of this peaceful exchange.
