A Romanian soccer referee was suspended for the season after making "inappropriate" comments about a black coach at a Champions League game, UEFA ruled on Tuesday (AEDT).<\/p>\n
Paris Saint-Germain and \u0130stanbul Ba\u015fak\u015fehir refused to continue playing on December 8 because players believed fourth official Sebastian Coltescu racially insulted the Turkish club's assistant coach, Pierre Webo.<\/p>\n
A UEFA investigation led to Coltescu facing the lesser charge of "inappropriate behaviour" for using the Romanian word for black, "negru," to identify Webo.<\/p>\n
Coltescu is banned "from carrying out any referee's function until the end of the 2020\/21 season," UEFA said its disciplinary committee decided. He must also attend a UEFA-approved educational course.<\/p>\n
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"In the international context, correct use of language is essential to avoid situations such as those that occurred in the above-mentioned match," UEFA said.<\/p>\n
The ban will apply to domestic games in Romania because Coltescu is no longer on the FIFA-managed list of officials approved for international games.<\/p>\n
Romania's soccer federation decided before the game in Paris not to propose Coltescu for 2021, and the PSG-Ba\u015fak\u015fehir tie was his last on international duty.<\/p>\n
The game was completed 24 hours later with a different set of match officials brought in from the Netherlands.<\/p>\n
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