Article by Andrei Crăiţoiu, Maria Olteanu – Published on Wednesday, 18 February 2026 21:49 / Updated on Thursday, 19 February 2026 03:10
Unirea Slobozia will play on Sunday, in round number 28 of the Superliga, the first match in history at night, at home, against the University of Craiova. According to GSP.ro, on Wednesday, the installation operation of the four pillars was completed, and the hosts also took precautionary measures, so that everything would be in order in the dispute against the leader of the Superliga.
At the beginning of 2026, Slobozia returned to the “1 Mai” stadium, but played the matches against UTA Arad, Hermannstadt and Farul at lunchtime, so there was no need for the night installation.
Slobozia will play with Craiova on Sunday evening, from 8:00 p.m., and four days before this game, the officials from Ialomi have finished installing the four night posts. If the situation had not been resolved in time, the match would have been played in Clinceni, where Slobozia played in the first part of the season.
Night of 400,000 euros in Slobozia
All four pillars of the nocturnal installation were installed in Slobozia, the investment amounting to 400,000 euros, from GSP.ro information. The works were handled by a company from Baia Mare, which completed the installation of the lighting system on Wednesday.
On Thursday, February 19, a tent is to be brought in, equipped with three gasoline generators, to wire the stadium directly to them. Also on Thursday, the first functionality tests of the nocturnal poles will be carried out.
The organizers decided to use three generators to have additional security in the electricity supply, so that in the event that the night falls, it can be quickly intervened, without the risk of the match being lost at the “green table”.
The measure of the people of Ialomi was taken in the context of the existing problems with the electrical network, also reported during the match with Hermannstadt, when there were power problems and the video refereeing system (VAR) did not work.
Why didn't the VAR system work in Slobozia
Following the technical checks carried out at the stadium in Slobozia, it was found that the arena is not powered by the city's electrical network, but by means of a generator that serves the electrical panel. Under these conditions, significant voltage fluctuations were identified on the three phases, a situation that makes it impossible to use the VAR system.
Considering these voltage variations, there is a high risk of damage to the VAR equipment, which is why, for reasons of technical safety, the system cannot be put into operation.
At the same time, the generator provided by the host club does not have grounding, an aspect that represents an additional safety risk, both for the equipment and for the personnel involved in operating the system.
– FRF statement
