Article by Ionuţ Coman – Published Saturday, February 28, 2026 23:20 / Updated Saturday, February 28, 2026 23:53
The Ovidiu duel was tense due to the nervous gestures of the guests' coach, Daniel Pancu, but especially by the decisions of the referee Florin Andrei, accused of not awarding two penalty kicks to the hosts from Farul Constanța.
After the final whistle, the mood changed in the visitors' camp, who celebrated their tenth consecutive victory and are mathematically in the play-offs. What the Cluj fans chanted at the end in 6 things that were not seen on TV.
1. The players from Farul Constanța entered the field with special shirts, printed with the number 2 on the back and the name Mustafa. It was the way in which the white-blues honored the memory of the former footballer of the Litoral group, Ilhan Mustafa, who passed away on Wednesday, at the age of 74. Moreover, before the start of the match, a moment of silence was held, then captain Ionuț Larie and his colleagues threw the shirts into the stands, to the fans.
2. The visiting coach put on a show on the sidelines, where he stood permanently. Despite the cold in Constanța, where the temperature was freezing, he started the match only in a sweater, putting on a long jacket only after the break. With just five minutes to go, he undressed again and nervously threw his jacket on the bench, displeased with his team's performance.
The culminating moment, however, happened in the middle of the first half, when he threw a tantrum, argued with reserve referee Vlad Baban, then threw his head coach badge on the floor. Reported by his colleague, center Florin Andrei gave him the yellow card, which is why Daniel Pancu will be suspended for the last match of the regular season, at home, against Dinamo Bucharest.
3. Fined 7,500 lei after the match with Rapid Bucharest, when the referee Szabolcs Kovacs stopped the game because of racist chants, the Constanta club risks being punished again. In the first half, the white-blue gallery again had a racist message, referring to the Hungarian community. This time, however, central Florin Andrei pretended not to hear and did not take any action. As the few supporters of the visitors on the lawn did not respond to the challenges, Peluza Marină did not repeat the chants and the match was completed without problems.
4. At the end of the first half, Farul lost Denis Alibec due to an injury. The 35-year-old striker signaled that he could no longer continue and asked his opponents to kick the ball out, before heading straight for the dressing room. “From the warm-up he was a little embarrassed, but he said he could start. I knew about his problems, he couldn't continue. She had this muscle problem, let's see how delicate it is.” explained Ianis Zicu.
5. In the extra minutes, the Constantinians asked for a penalty kick, after a duel between Iulian Doicaru and Marian Huja. Even though the Cluj defender held the Farulu striker by the shirt, the referee Florin Andrei let the game continue. The phase was analyzed in the VAR Chamber, where Ionuț Coza, who confirmed the decision and did not even call him to the sidelines to see the replay.
Another duel, between Gustavo Marins and Matei Ilie, also in the Cluj box, where the defender of the hosts was hit with the head by the opponent, was judged in the same way. Not even a foul was awarded, even though the Brazilian stayed on the ground. At the end of the game, the captain of the Lighthouse, Ionuț Larie questioned the center in the middle of the field, waving his hands in despair, not satisfied with the answers received.
6. At the end of the game, the guests celebrated the victory with the small gallery from Cluj. Excited by the 10-game winning streak, the fans chanted alongside the players and conveyed their emotions with two special chants: “We're proud of you!” and “The champions, the champions!”. However, the coach Daniel Pancu was absent, who complained of being unwell and received care from the medical staff.
