Scandal at the top of Romanian football: Rapid club demands LPF president's resignation

FC Rapid's majority shareholder, Dan Şucu, launched a harsh attack on the president of the Professional Football League (LPF), Gino Iorgulescu, accusing him of abuse and demanding his "honorary" resignation. The statement comes following a controversial decision taken by the Emergency Committee of the Romanian Football Federation (FRF), which amended the LPF regulations regarding the registration of players on the A list in the middle of the competitive season.

• Spark of conflict: the Malcom Edjouma case

According to information published on the digisport.ro website, the change in regulations was determined by the desire of FCSB owner Gigi Becali to re-register midfielder Malcom Edjouma, initially excluded from the first team squad. The rapid intervention of the Emergency Committee allowed this move, sparking discontent from other Super League clubs.

• Sucu's accusations: "Kissing the ring” and a dangerous precedent

In the statement published on the official website of FC Rapid, Dan Sucu harshly criticizes both the LPF's decision and the attitude of president Gino Iorgulescu: "The fact that the president of the league - our employee, of all the clubs, paid royally - travels "to the palace” to "kiss the ring” is simply unacceptable.” Sucu argues that the LPF, as a representative of the interests of the 16 clubs, must be equidistant and make decisions only with the consent of its members. He believes that changing the regulations during the competition, at the initiative of a single club, is an "extremely serious abuse” and creates a dangerous precedent.

• Request for resignation and call for unity

The businessman emphasizes that the problem is not that Gigi Becali is asking for favors for FCSB, but that the LPF president would grant them without consulting the other clubs. "Trust in him is irreparably compromised,” says Şucu, asking Iorgulescu to submit his resignation. Finally, he sends a message of support for the Romanian teams still in European competitions, which he considers the ambassadors of the Super League on the continent.

The conflict comes amid chronic tensions between the Super League clubs, fueled by the perception that the LPF and FRF decisions favor certain teams. The Edjouma case could open a new front of disputes regarding transparency and fairness in Romanian football, especially regarding changes to regulations during the season.

• Iorgulescu responds to attacks

Gino Iorgulescu, the president of the Romanian Football Federation (LPF), has sent a statement responding to the accusations of FC Rapid's majority shareholder, Dan Şucu. Iorgulescu says that by amending the ROAF provisions regarding the possibility of completing the list of 25 players after the start of the championship, a legal problem that has existed for a long time has been corrected.

Iorgulescu says that Dan Şucu benefited from such a legal artifice in the case of player Jakub Hromada, last fall. "Last fall, Mr. Dan Şucu, whom I have great respect for his involvement at Rapid and for his efforts to professionalize Romanian football, benefited from such a legal artifice in the case of player Jakub Hromada. Unlike Mr. Becali, he did not request the intervention of the LPF at that time. He preferred to use the legal maneuver offered by terminating the contract with the agreement of the parties and concluding a new contract. Based on this artifice, the player was assigned the alleged status of a newly legitimized player, although he was previously already under contract with the club. He had been removed from the list and, through this procedure, was reintroduced, thus circumventing the regulatory provisions. I publicly ask Mr. Şucu, before attacking me, to check within the club whether he did not benefit, in turn, from practices that I have now eliminated precisely in order to no longer give rise to discussions", states Iorgulescu in the statement on the lpf.ro website.