Article by Alexandru Tomuțiu – Published on Tuesday, 05 August 2025 20:27 / Updated Tuesday, 05 August 2025 20:37
Ion Iliescu, the former president of Romania who died todayat the age of 95, he drove an important federation of Romanian sport.
At the age of 94, Ion Iliescu had given an interview in which he spoke about his links. He transmitted that he did not like football, which he considered “too accessible”.
Instead, it was the fan of sports such as snooker, tennis, volleyball, ping-pong, skating and skiing.
Ion Iliescu did not like football: “I didn't like it, it was the most popular and accessible sport”
“I look at the world of sport with the same enthusiasm and I keep the pleasure of seeing the snooker competitions for which you always need an anticipatory mind and a calculated reaction to a set of circumstantial possibilities and choices.
I was glad to meet Ronnie O'Sullivan. I saw him playing Jimmy White. At tennis I look often, I was a great admirer of Roger Federer. We were tied to many great champions.
I once drove the Kaiac-Canoe Federation. I was close to Ivan Patzaichin from the beginning of his career. I still read paper newspapers. I'm sorry I don't go to the theater and concerts anymore!
I did everything, starting with the cloth ball, football, Maidan. In my time, when I was in Oltenita and I was eight, there were many land. This was the advantage of our childhood, there was all the energy of childhood and youth.
I also played volleyball, ping-pong, swimming, skiing, skiing. I did not like football, it was the most popular and accessible sport, besides Turcă and all this! ”, Said Ion Iliescu, according to ProSport.
As long as he was general manager of Romanian Waters, between 1981-1989, Ion Iliescu also led the Romanian Kaiac-Canoe Federation.
“Thanks to Iliescu was made the track from Bascov, Lake Snagov was regained by the Nautical Sports Federation during his time, because Ceausescu had blocked,” the story Ioan Bârlădeanu for Freedom.
Accused for crimes against humanity
Ion Iliescu was charged in the mining file of June 13-15, 1990, respectively in the Revolution file.
In the first file, recently sent to court, Ion Iliescu, Petre Roman and 6 other defendants are accused of crimes against humanity. Specifically, that “they launched a policy of repression against the civilian population in the Capital, after which 4 people were killed, 2 people were raped, the physical and/or mental integrity of over 1,300 people were injured and over 1,200 people were persecuted.”
The file of the Revolution, with Ion Iliescu among the defendants, was sent by the JCCJ back to the Military Prosecutor's Office in September 2024, 35 years after the facts. And in that file to Iliescu is brought the accusation of crimes against humanity.
Specifically, it would have supported a systematic operation of misleading public opinion between December 22-30, 1989, a manipulation that had “as consequences the generation and amplification of the generalized psychosis of terrorism, psychosis causing numerous generalized fratricidal fires”.
“Thus, 857 deaths occurred, 2,382 injuries of persons, 585 serious freedom deprivations, in violation of the general rules of international law and 409 cases of large suffering,” according to the indictment of military prosecutors.
