Manchester United of England striker, Odion Jude Ighalo was rooted to the bench fo all 90 minutes, on a night his side crashed out of the UEFA Champions League with a 3-2 loss away to B Leipzig of Germany, while Azubuike Okechukwu was not dressed by Basaksehir of Turkey.
Megasportsarena.com reports that ‘Azu’ did not have the chance of seeing if his side would pull off a heroic win away to Paris Saint-Germaine of France, as the game was abandoned due to racism allegations hurled by his teammates against one of the match officials.
Both matches were in the same group of his season’s European elite club’s competition, but Ighalo’s side failed to get the draw that would have seen them reach the knock-out stage, while PSG pick the ticket even if they lose in the rematch against Okechukwu’s side now bulled for Wednesday evening at same venue.
Azubuike’s teammates were furious after assistant coach, Pierre Webo was shown a red card by referee Ovidiu Hategan of Romania at Parc des Princes, saying Coltescu had used a racial term to describe the Cameroonian ex-international before sending him off.
Television footage captured the exchange between the fourth official and the referee, with Coltescu telling Hategan that Webo should be reprimanded for his behaviour on the sidelines.
“Go and give it [the red card] to the Black one, this is not possible [tolerable], go and identify him, go verify, the Black one over there,” Coltescu allegedly said, in Romanian, about Webo, who was enraged and queried six times “Why you say negro?” as he sought an explanation from Coltescu.
The game was still goalless when the incident took place about 15 minutes into the match, but Basaksehir substitute Demba Ba demanded that the fourth official explain himself, while PSG players Neymar and Kylian Mbappe also demanded an explanation. Basaksehir coach Okan Buruk said “you are racist” to Coltescu.
Moments later, Ba came off the bench and stood in front of Coltescu and said: “Why when you mention a black guy, you have to say ‘This black guy?’” while Basaksehir posted a message on Twitter against a UEFA backdrop with the message reading: “NO TO RACISM.”
Same night in the UCL, Emmanuel Dennis Bonaventure was also on Club Brugge’s bench for 90 minutes, while David Chidozie Okereke went on in place of Krepin Diatta in the 84th, as their team also crashed out fo the competition, despite getting a 2-2 draw away to SS Lazio of Italy.
In England, Chelsea’s latest Nigerian-born youngster, Faustino Anjorin started his first official game for the London-based side against visiting Krasnodar of Russia in a Group E fixture at Stamford Bridge, in a game from which The Blues had been guaranteed finishing top of the group regardless of the outcome.
Injuries to Hakim Ziyech and Callum Hudson-Odoi, saw Anjorin selected into the hosts’ stating 11, as he followed the footsteps of John Mikel Obi, Celestine Babayaro, Victor Moses and Dominic Solanke as Nigerian stars that have played for Chelsea in the Champions League.
Last season, the 19-year-old fast-riding Anjorin captained Chelsea in the prestigious FA Youth Cup and was their top scorer in the Premier League 2 with five goals from 11 appearances, after which he played his first minutes for the main team as a 67th minute substitute against Grimsby Town in the League Cup in September 2019 and six months later made his EPL debut off the bench in a 4-0 win over Everton.
Aside adding power up front, Anjorin was also solid defensively, with a game-high four tackles to his name on the cards, as Chelsea completed their Group E fixtures without a loss, with a 1-1 draw against the Russian visitors just good enough on Tuesday night.
Anjorin logged 80 minutes before making way for Olivier Giroud, on a historic night to always remember for the England youth international, who hogged various parts of the match commentary with several touches on the ball and looked threatening on the left flank.
He had an opportunity to score in the 52nd minute but saw his shot towards goal blocked by Krasnodar captain, Martynovich, after which the Nigerian-born lad almost created a chance for Havertz to net the winner with 17 minutes remaining but Gorodov smothered the ball.
Anjorin wowed everyone with his efforts on the night, causing Chelsea’s coach, Frank Lampard to public disclose that he had been impressed by the youngster’s performance and highlighted the player’s physicality and good ball handling skills.
Lampard said; “In training he’s shown since last season a real ability to step straight into the level. He showed it today, the way he moves the ball quickly and his physical attributes.
“He’s had some fitness issues, it’s a work in progress, but the more he trains with us the better he gets. With injuries we have, in short-term he will spend more time with us. He grew into the game as it went along.”
