“Inadmissible! I will not tolerate any slip up”

On April 7-11, 2026, the Romanian U20 women's national team participated in the Carpathian Trophy, organized in Târgu Mureș. In the evening of April 10, after playing all the matches of this competition, several tricolors were present in a night club in Târgu Mureș, where they were accompanied by Viorel Mazilu, the technical director of the Romanian Handball Federation.

The images in which Mazilu and several players appear, including Teodora Damian, Minaur Baia Mare's handball player and the captain of the U20 national team, were published on the club's official page and distributed on Thursday morning by the Women's Handball page.

FRH announces the start of a disciplinary investigation and the limitation of Viorel Mazilu's powers

During the evening, Bogdan Voina, the new president of FRH, expressed his indignation about the situation in which the U20 national team was involved and declared that he would not tolerate any slip-up.

“What happened is inadmissible and, as long as I am president, I will not tolerate any slippage by any Romanian handball official, regardless of the position he occupies in the FRH hierarchy. For me, the Romanian National Team must be the place where the players feel protected and respected by the people who have the Romanian handball logo on their chests and represent our country. Without rules and discipline, we cannot perform!”, said Voina.

The Romanian Handball Federation announced that it will start an administrative disciplinary investigation and that it will limit Viorel Mazilu's duties “until the truth is known.

The images appearing in the public space with the technical director of FRH have nothing in common with the direction in which we want Romanian handball to go in this new stage. Moreover, it is very difficult to understand and accept that a representative of the federation, in a position that implies a great responsibility towards the athletes of the national team, would be involved in such an incident […]

Following this incident, the FRH president ordered the general secretary to start an administrative disciplinary investigation, in accordance with the federation's internal acts and procedures. Equally, we will take into immediate analysis, including the limitation of work duties for Mr. Viorel Mazilu until the truth is found out and responsibility is established, in accordance with the procedures provided in the regulations and statutes of the Romanian Handball Federation. The conclusions of this investigation will lead to the adoption of firm decisions that the FRH will publicly communicate at the time of the completion of the investigations.

The Romanian Handball Federation wants to build an environment based on respect and responsibility for the athletes who represent Romania, offering models and examples worthy of following, and the people who are part of the Romanian handball family must understand extremely well the role they have with all the national teams

– Communiqué of the Romanian Handball Federation

How Viorel Mazilu, the technical director of the Romanian Handball Federation, defended himself

In a statement for welovesport.ro, Viorel Mazilu denounced a plot against him, stating that “only one thing is being sought: Mazilu's head”. The technical director said that the Municipality invited the players to the party in the club in Târgu Mureș.

“The tournament is over. The municipality invited us there. There were people from the town hall, from the local club, people from handball, including from the Board of Directors. The athletes were not forced to participate, each player decided for herself whether to go or not. Some responded to the invitation, others stayed at the hotel. There is only one thing to watch: Mazilu's head.

There are many interests and many combinations in handball. It's just that from the moment I appeared on this post, no more combinations can be made. Only the coaches choose their players. I never imposed on anyone”, explained Mazilu.

Teodora Damian, captain of the U20 national handball team / photo: Facebook Breeze By The Lake

He also defended Teodora Damian, caught with an electronic cigarette in her hand:

“Teodora Damian is one of the most serious and hardworking members of her generation. Damian is a sensational product, he shoots great in training and this is also the reason why she also plays in the Flower League.

Even the biggest handball players smoke, most of them do it secretly, around the corners, after the bus. The problem is not the electronic cigarette. The problem is Mazilu. What problems do we have to get rid of Mazilu…”