A major scandal shook Romanian sports life: as it turned out, a Hungarian member of the youth men's gymnastics team was abused and - because of his nationality - humiliated by his fellow Romanians. The RMDSZ called the incident incendiary and demands that the Romanian politician distance himself, the Romanian Sports Agency is calling for an investigation, and the anti-discrimination council has initiated proceedings - kronikaonline.ro reported on the event .
The incident made public by the sports portal ProSport happened recently at the training camp of the junior national team in Resicabánya. Since both the victims and the perpetrators are minors - only fifteen years old - the paper only published their initials.
According to the report, the coach left the squad preparing for the upcoming European Championship alone for a while, and the young athletes organized a party where they drank alcohol and smoked.
All of a sudden, two members of the team - FB and DP - "attacked" the Hungarian ZK.
First, they tied her to a heater, then they cut her hair, stripped her, forced her to drink alcohol, put ashes on her, and then mimed a sexual act with her.
After that, according to ProSport, he was also picked up because of his nationality:
they shouted at him "You Hungarian!" ("ungure" in Romanian, which is considered an insult), and continued to treat him humiliatingly.
According to the newspaper's sources, no one intervened. The boy escaped from the training camp the next day and traveled home to Lugos, where he told his parents about what had happened. According to lawyers, the perpetrators committed four crimes: coercion, abuse, sexual perversion, and the suspicion of mistreatment of minors may arise if the case comes before the judiciary. At the same time, neither the association nor the boy's father wanted to comment on the matter.
Coach Răzvan Șelariu directed the reporters to the association,
at the same time, the Romanian Gymnastics Association does not rush the investigation, as it promised that the case will be dealt with at the meeting of the executive committee. At the Wednesday meeting, however, the topic was not on the agenda.
Carmencita Constantin, the president of the Romanian Gymnastics Association, promised full transparency as soon as the case comes before the executive body, but they are currently preparing for the continental tournament.
It also seemed uncomfortable for the boy's father to comment on the case. When the newspaper's journalists contacted him, he only said: they have not contacted the police, and they do not intend to do anything for the time being. "Some things have been taken care of. With the gymnastics association, everything is fine," he said, adding that these things are "handled by someone else", so he does not wish to comment. Incidentally, the victim of Hungarian nationality is a member of the local sports club in Lugos, and won a bronze medal in the national championship in 2022 on floor and in 2023 in pommel horse.
Although he would have been a member of the team traveling to the EC, the decision was made at Wednesday's meeting of the association's executive committee to leave him at home.
Elisabeta Lipă, the president of the National Sports Agency, officially asked the gymnastics association for an explanation on Friday.
"I am waiting for an official answer, as I have indicated to them: they must explain how such a thing is possible," stated the five-time Olympic and one-time world champion former rower and current sports manager.
Kelemen Hunor, the president of the RMDSZ federation, also spoke about the case, since the victim is of Hungarian nationality.
"So far and no more! As a father and leader of the Hungarian community, I find it unacceptable and blood-curdling what happened to the 15-year-old Hungarian boy from Lugos in the training camp, because he was brutally abused there by his Romanian peers. And only because he is Hungarian"
- pointed out the politician in his video published on Friday.
Kelemen expressed his regret on behalf of RMDSZ and himself to the abused boy and his family. "We will do everything we can to make amends and I think what happened is unacceptable. This is where the incitement of hatred, the multi-year anti-Hungarian campaign of the AUR, and the fact that the Romanian society tolerated it without saying a word.
I am asking my fellow Romanian politicians, the leaders of the Romanian state, the head of state, the prime minister, the minister of the interior, the minister of justice, to react very quickly and, on the one hand, to condemn the case. On the other hand, the national leadership of the gymnastics association must also order an immediate investigation, because this cannot be left without a word or without consequences. In this case, no one can listen. Anti-Hungarianism must be curbed. This is our common responsibility and our common task. So far and no more!”
Kelemen stated in his reaction on Friday.
Following the ProSport fact-finding article, the National Anti-Discrimination Council (CNCD) is also expected to launch an investigation into the case, Cristian Jura, a member of the board, said that he would bring the scandalous incident to the attention of the board of directors.
Photo: Prosport / Anti-Hungarian national team. Both the victim and the perpetrators were marked in ProSport's photo, covering their faces
