Article by Marius Mărgărit – Published on Saturday, 07 March 2026, 19:08 / Updated on Saturday, 07 March 2026 19:09
Troy Tomșa (18 years old), from Sassuolo Primavera, grabbed the referee by the collar today who had just eliminated him in the match against Napoli. Adrian Dulcea, the selector from the U19 team of Romania, commented on the footballer's incredible gesture.
In the first phase, the technician noticed on the Internet that his player had been eliminated and sent him a message to ask him what happened. The kid answered that “professor i did something stupid. see you later”. Later in the evening, the two would have a discussion.
Dulcea found out what happened on the field from the news and the images presented by GSP.ro and the first reaction was that “it's unacceptable what Troy did, regardless of the circumstances! I'm going to have a serious discussion with him. I was just happy that he was back on the field.
Because he had problems with his meniscus, he had an operation and was absent for quite a while. And this is happening now, when we have the Elite Tournament at the end of the month, pinto the qualification for Euro U19, which will take place in Wales in June.
Honestly, I don't like it at all! Because he is an important player for us. We will get in touch with the sporting director, with the Sassuolo coach, to see exactly what happened. That I see that the Italian club also announced that it will take measures.
We will have a discussion with him, let's see what decision we will make. For now I don't have all the details and I can't say more. But, in any case, I cannot accept such behavior. Even if it can also be attributed to age, I would not accept such a thing!”.
Adrian Dulcea: “Troy Tomșa is a quiet boy, a team player, a footballer with great potential”
The U19 selector is totally surprised by his student's gesture and says that for over a year, since he has been collaborating with the national team, “never had a problem with it. On the contrary, he is a quiet boy, nice to the locker room, a team player and a professional when it comes to training.
It can evolve to close or inter and is very promising. He played very well in November, when we had the first qualifying tournament, in Bucharest. Where we finished first in a group with Andorra (4-1), Finland (1-1) and Iceland (3-0). And he scored 3 times.
Now, at the end of March, we have the Elite Tournament. A tough group with Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Northern Ireland. They are still playing with us because initially it was about organizing Ukraine, but it is not possible because of the conflict there. The second option was Kazakhstan, but the travel expenses for all delegations would have been too high for the other competitors.
So it was decided to organize it all at our place. But to get to the Euros, we have to win the group, because only 8 representative teams go there.
I was happy that the boys are playing at clubs, including seniors where appropriate. And now comes this! I hope it's just an unfortunate moment and he learns from it for the future. Because no one can bail you out for something like that.”
The reunion of the U19 team would take place on March 22, and Romania will play Kazakhstan (March 25), Northern Ireland (March 28) and Ukraine (March 31) in order.
Troy Tomșa, born in England, raised in Germany, but who plays in Italy, impressed not only with his footballing qualities, but also with the large number of tattoos on his hands and feet. He is among those called up, earning his place in the team following the developments in the last games, in which he was the starter every time.
In fact, the player managed by Cătălin Sărmasan went through several national teams, being called up over time to the U17, U18 teams, and from 2025 to the U19.
