“We're going to have big problems if we implement it”

The former referee believes that this law is unconstitutional, and this may bring serious problems for Romania if the law is promulgated by President Nicușor Dan.

• The Chamber of Deputies voted as Order of the Ministry of Sports 500/2022, issued by former minister Eduard Novak, which provided the obligation to use 40% Romanian athletes by Romanian clubs, in all sportsat matches organized in the country, to become an integral part of the Physical Education and Sports Law.

• The law must be promulgated by President Nicușor Dan to enter into force.

• The text of the law provides for financial sanctions for teams that will not comply with the provision, fines between 500,000 and 1,000,000 lei (between 100,000 and 200,000 euros)but it is not clear if the penalties will be applied after each violation (each match in which the teams will not use Romanians in a proportion of at least 40%) or at the end of the seasons. Details of this kind will be determined by each individual sports federation.

Cristi Balaj vehemently criticized the “Novak Law”: “It violates European norms”

“The target of this endeavor has a laudable cause. We all want to have as many Romanian players as possible in the Superliga, Liga 2 or Liga 3 teams, if only Romanians can be.

We would like to have Romanian players at Real Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Manchester City or Bayern Munich. We would have a chance to qualify for international competitions, that's where the discussion started. But we have to see what we have to do to get there. We don't have to take the easy way out.

Unfortunately, for those who worked and put in the effort so that, in the end, a law that, in my view, is not constitutional, was passed with a simple majority, it is sad. This violates European rules.

It is a populist law, even if the idea is laudable. But why didn't he put 60% or 90%? To come and beat each other with fists in the chest how much we care for our country? If we want to have results, we have to copy what is implemented and is perfectly legal in other countries.

We should reward teams that use Romanian players. Let's reward like the Hungarians do, let's invest in children and juniors, so that a player who reaches 19 or 20 years of age plays because he deserves it.

Our children, at the age of 8, 9, 10, play at the level of Barcelona or other big teams. Those from abroad, when they reach 19 years old, reach the 9-10th floor, and we are stuck on the 6th floor.

We make mistakes along the way: methodology, training of coaches, vitaminization, nutrition, sports bases, video monitoring. All these things are related to money. If we want results, those in Parliament must adopt some laws to support juniors.

Children from FCSB, Craiova, Rapid, CFR, from Hagi's academy reach the national team. Private teams that do not benefit from state aid.

That should concern us, to invest in children and juniors, so that when they reach adulthood they can play in the Superliga or other championships because they deserve it,” said Cristi Balaj, according to fanatik.ro.

Cristi Balaj: “The law can be challenged and sent to the Constitutional Court of Romania”

“Until the president, the law can be attacked and sent to the Constitutional Court of Romania by a group of parliamentarians as unconstitutional, but I find it hard to believe that this will happen. In the first phase, the Senate Chamber gave a negative vote.

The People's Advocate is the first person who can send the law to the Constitutional Court to be reviewed. If not, the president, who from what I have noticed lately has a lot of laws that he reversed and did not promulgate, can send this law, which contravenes European norms, to the Constitutional Court to be reanalyzed.

We are going to have big problems if we implement this law. It is enough for a player to challenge this law to UEFA.

Let's take an example, let's say that a club team has two right defenders, one Romanian, the other foreign. He has one change left and we find that the right-back is seriously injured by an opponent and needs to be replaced.

You only have Romanian players on the bench in other positions. what are you doing It's the team made by parliamentarians, not by the coach.

There were cases when club players went to the national team and got injured, a match where the parliamentarians stood in the stands and cheered that Romania won. so what are you doing Where else can you find a Romanian player if it's not a transfer period?

Clubs challenging the law should address the League in the hope that the League will take this step to the Ombudsman and President, or the clubs should send directly. The deadline is 5 days from when the law was published on the website.

I wouldn't want to be challenged, I say that everyone's goal or desire is the same, regardless of whether we are for or against this law. Everyone's desire is to have as many Romanian players as possible in the Superliga and abroad. In order to get there, we have to support the academies and the children in order to end up having the same conditions as those in developed football”, concluded Balaj.