Day of maximum importance behind the scenes of Romanian football! Superliga clubs are present at Poiana Brașov, at the Aurelius Împaratul Romanilor hotel, at the Extraordinary General Meeting convened by the LPF. On the agenda are discussions related to modification of the status of the Professional Football Leaguewhich could smooth Gino Iorgulescu's path to a new mandate. And the TV rights situation is on the table of League 1 bosses.
Gazeta Sporturilor will report throughout the day the events that took place far from the Capital, at Poiana Brașov, in the luxury establishment where the League convened the clubs for discussions.
“It is for the first time in history that an Extraordinary General Assembly of the LPF is not organized in Bucharest”, stated the football people consulted by Gazetă.
The hotel in Poiana that will host the heads of clubs from the first league / Photo source: Facebook
At the moment, the regulation provides that a president can only have two mandates of 5 years each at the head of the LPF. Iorgulescu was elected in 2013 and, in theory, would have been in his third term now. He reasoned that the change to a maximum of two mandates occurred in 2014, while he was in office, so he could run twice later, in 2017 and 2022.
In addition, Iorgulescu proposes introducing into the statute a condition according to which a person can run for the LPF presidency only if, in the last five years, he has held a management position in a League 1 club or in a structure such as FRF or LPF.
Gino Iorgulescu has been in office since the fall of 2013 / Photo source: Ionuț Iordache GSP
From GSP.ro information, many of the club presidents would not necessarily oppose an unlimited number of terms for the president, but some are against this amendment.
👉🏻Dani Coman, the president of FC Argeș, is one of the voices critical of the “Iorgulescu regime”, speculating that he would “hunt” Gino's seat.
Dinamo set the tone for the revolt, Rapid and Craiova are in the same boat…
Dinamo, through the voice of the president Andrei Nicolescu, is trying to prevent the implementation of the new “updates” in the statute and is working to convince the other clubs in the Superliga so that the LPF plan does not go to the next level.
Concrete, Dinamo requests the postponement or removal from the agenda of the amendment of the statute, citing time for a thorough legal review and consultation with all clubs.
In addition, Dinamo also has dissatisfaction with the current TV rights contract, which it considers ineffective and not very feasible in the long term. In the context of technological expansion, clubs fear that the current contract may lose its legitimacy in favor of tools such as YouTube or the pay-per-view regime.
👉🏻 As GSP announced in the premiere, the University of Craiova does not agree with the desired changes to the Statute of the League either. And Mihai Rotaru reacted harshly to the LPF address.
👉🏻 In addition, Rapid also does not agree with the Statute changes premeditated by the LPF. First of all because there was no prior consultation and they are trying to force them directly in the General Assembly.
The current statute was voted during Iorgulescu's mandate! How come this, I was operating on the wrong status? Gino Iorgulescu has been at LPF since 2013. It is 12 years, but he still does not believe that he has already exceeded two five-year mandates, as it is written in the statute voted in his mandate! There's nothing wrong with improving a status, but when the same person changes it as they see fit, it's not very moral.
– leader of League 1, under the protection of anonymity
… But Becali supports Gino
👉🏻 The financier of the titular champion declared that he supports Gino Iorgulescu for a new mandate and that he will order that he be voted, even if Mihai Stoica had initially positioned himself against the incumbent president, especially on the issue of money from television rights.
“So, I spoke with Gino (…) I was the first to be against it. But I said this: I'm not interested in the league or the federation, I'm interested in the league or the federation not having anomalies in the statute.
We, being members, become embarrassing, that is, stupid. If we vote for some crazy people, it means that we make a laughing stock in front of journalists and people who read.
I said: “Hey Gino, I proposed you, I voted for you. More mandates, yes, if you are capable and the world votes for you, I have nothing against it. To have 5 years of experience and not be allowed to run for office, this is an anomaly that concerns our dignity. I'm old, you want me to tarnish my dignity? That's why I called you, let's get this out. If you take that out, I'll send a man over there who votes. Well, if you are capable, why should we limit your mandate?».
This is not about the leadership of the country. This is about the management of an institution, which does not bother me. It can neither harm me nor good. I don't need either their good or their bad”, Gigi Becali declared, on the show “Fotbal Club”, from Digi Sport.
LPF reply: “I don't know if Romanian football needs a new tribune”
You realize that I am not going to enter into an online dialogue with Mr. Andrei Niculescu. I am convinced that he will be present at the General Assembly, where he will be able to support his position already expressed in writing.
I don't know if Romanian football needs a new tribune, but I know for sure that it doesn't need a circus. LPF will not turn an institutional debate into a media spectacle.
Such discussions, the faces worn under the protection of anonymity, see the statements given by a president under this “protection”, serve no one. On the contrary, they only fuel artificial tensions and affect the image of Romanian football.
We are convinced that real debates should be held where they matter: in the General Assembly, between people who openly assume their points of view.
Anything else risks affecting the image of the Superliga product, a brand that must be protected, not consumed in sterile scandals.
– Justin Ștefan, general secretary of the Professional Football League, for GSP.ro
Background, in detail:
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In the Extraordinary General Assembly of the LPF, scheduled today, at Poiana Brașov, Gino Iorgulescu intends to propose the amendment of the LPF statute, in order to get a fourth mandate at the head of the League. GSP addressed the subject at length on Monday evening.
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Andrei Nicolescu, Dinamo's president, tries to convince his competition partners of the “immorality” of the LPF chief's strategy, including regarding television rights, and to block Gino's plan;
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The change that the clubs were invited to vote on is an amendment that would allow Gino Iorgulescu to run again, making Dani Coman's path to the #1 position at LPF more difficult. If the amendment is voted on, it would look like this: “To have at least 5 years of uninterrupted experience in managing a sports structure active in the field of football, at League 1 level, including at the level of LPF and the Romanian Football Federation”.
