Scandal after the Bosnia-Romania match. Commentators accuse “sabotage” and “primitivism”: what they told about the hostile atmosphere
Emil Grădinescu and Costi Mocanu, the commentators of the Prima TV station, which broadcast the match, accuse that in the first half the state television in Bosnia simply cut off their sound, so that they could not be heard. Mircea Lucescu also accused the hosts of shouting at our team “Gypsies, Gypsies”.
Emil Grădinescu and Costi Mocanu PHOTO Video capture Prima TV
Prima TV, which broadcast the match, had big problems in the first half at the Bilino Polje stadium in Zenica, when the audio quality of the commentary was far from the usual standards. There were moments when it was not heard, as if “sound path” was cut.
Emil Grădinescu and Costi Mocanu, who commented on the game on the spot, were outraged by the attitude of the organizers, whom they accused of intentionally sabotaging the Romanian television broadcast.
“It's time to also clarify the sound problems we had at the beginning of the transmission. Our colleagues from Bucharest tell us that before the starting whistle, the problem was that the commentary path to Bucharest was not lifted from the transmission car”said Costi Mocanu.
He added: “The UEFA delegate, who is taking care of the organization of this match, intervened and things slowly returned to normal. Do you remember, Emil? Yesterday we were talking and you raised your eyebrows when you heard that the match was being produced by the state television in Bosnia. An obstacle like that, if it was intentional, I confess that I have never seen before.”
For his part, Emil Grădinescu claimed that he encountered similar problems in a match against Macedonia, when they accused TVR of treating FYROM – Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
“Things that, we have to say, denote primitivism in thinking. Such a thing is not possible, it is a transmission for which heavy money is paid. A sabotage. It is an extremely important moment that Prima TV presents and as a result of which it registers some revenue, as a result of the expenses incurred, and this is inadmissible. What is happening? To not open the way, that is, to basically cut off the microphones of the commentators, is unfortunate. It is unfortunate what happened!”said Grădinărescu.
“It's fine in Europe. There are no rules around us”
“In other words, in a few words, folks, if you ever ask yourself the question “is it good or not in Europe?”, try to go visit countries outside the European Union and you will have this answer. Yes, it is good in Europe.
There are no rules around us. And – mind you – we come from a country that is somewhat familiar with breaking the rules. But not quite like that. Yesterday we were informed that the seats around us (number of the commentators' station) will be protected, there will be stewards. No, it's nothing. Everyone is smoking, all the seats are occupied by Bosnian supporters, from time to time one of them comes back to us and starts saying the opening chorus again, “Gypsies, gypsies”added Costi Mocanu.
Mircea Lucescu's reaction
And coach Mircea Lucescu was outraged at the end of the match, accusing that he had never been able to hear the anthem because of the whistles in a stadium like the one in Bosnia. The selector also said that the chants “Gypsies, Gypsies!”to his team, they horrified him, according to GOLAZO.ro.
“I have never seen a greater lack of hospitality than this. In the stadium, miserable conditions. FIFA must be careful”said Lucescu.
The selector had an extremely harsh speech regarding both the racist chants of the Bosnian fans and the stadium where the match was played.
“It's a shame what happened here! When I look at the stadium we played in… the players had nowhere to warm up. If we're gypsies, what about these conditions? It's impossible at this level to play in these inhumane conditions”Mircea Lucescu also said.
