The president of FR Box admits that the Cuban athlete does not score points for Romania: “It does not affect any ranking”
President of the Romanian Boxing Federation, Vasile Cîteaadmitted on Wednesday, in a press conference organized at the FRB headquarters, that the Cuban boxer Jorge Luis Mayeta Suarez (19 years old) cannot bring Romania points in the major competitions until the naturalization process is completed.
The statement comes after Gazeta Sporturilor's investigation into how the Cuban athlete was integrated into the national teams and sent to international competitions before the naturalization process was completed.
In addition, the Federation publicly presented him as “world runner-up”, although the claimed result was achieved at the Youth World Boxing Cup in Budva, a competition that does not have official World Championship status, where Mayeta was eliminated in the sixteenth round.
The boxer arrived in Romania through the Cuban coach Alexi Salazar, the current coordinator of the men's team.
Vasile Cîtea promises that Mayeta will obtain Romanian citizenship in 4-5 months
A week ago, the former federal coach and competition manager Alexandru Scarlat, the former great boxer Dorel Simion, Victor Leu – the vice-president of the Federation and the brother of the former world champion Mihai Leu, centralized and registered at the headquarters of the institution the signatures of over 100 affiliated members, from all over the country, who request the convening of a General Assembly and the removal of Cîtea, who was not at the headquarters to meet the protesters.
Later, in the General Assembly, Vasile Cîtea and the members of the Federal Bureau were reconfirmed until the end of the mandate, in January 2028, with 105 votes “for” and one abstention. As a result of the approach, Victor Leu was suspended from his position, also by voting
In previous episodes of the GSP investigation, former coaches, referees and insiders of the Romanian Boxing Federation revealed the existence of a system of favored referees and medals deemed “fixed”. In addition, the management of FR Box delayed its affiliation with World Boxing, which caused Romania to miss a year of qualifying tournaments for the Olympic Games. Among the accusations made were the withholding of the daily allowances of the children sent to the European Championships, supposed fictitious settlement mechanisms in the cantonments.
President Vasile Cîtea was reconfirmed in office. He leads FRB since 2016. Photo: Romanian Boxing Federation
The President of the Romanian Boxing Federation, Vasile Cîtea, claims that the Cuban boxer Jorge Luis Mayeta Suarez can represent Romania in international tournaments even without Romanian citizenship, as long as the respective competitions do not influence the official rankings for the European, World or Olympic Games.
The head of FR Box states that the naturalization process is already underway and estimates that the athlete will obtain the Romanian passport in approximately 4-5 months. The Cuban won the 85 kg category last weekend at the Belgrade Winner tournament in the capital of Serbia.
“Mayeta needs a passport to represent Romania at the European and World Championships, the Olympic qualifications and the Olympic Games. In the rest of the competitions, he can participate without a Romanian passport, because it does not affect any ranking. These are the international rules of boxing. Regarding Mayeta's naturalization we are already consulting with the federations that have gone through this process. I think that in 4-5 months the athlete will have a Romanian passport”, declared Vasile Cîtea.
Mayeta, unfortunately, is a target. But I'm convinced that if it wasn't him, it was someone else. Some victims had to be found.
– Vasile Cîtea
Mayeta feels at home: “I'm very grateful”
The event was also attended by the coordinating coach of the men's team, the Cuban Alexi Salazar, who stated that his objective is “to bring back the shine of Romanian boxing”.
“Mayeta is a 19-year-old kid, now it's his first year in the seniors. Since we came to Romania, we've been doing nothing but bringing back the brilliance of Romanian boxingand I think Mayeta has brought a new breath to the Romanian team, he is an example for other colleagues. This new batch of Romania can achieve important performances in the coming years. I convey to the Romanian people that we are here to work alongside the team of Romanian coaches and the administrative team of the federation.
We did not come to Romania to be someone's rivals. We have come to team up with Romanian coaches to help Romanian boxing and bring it back to the international level it deserves. We don't want to be accused of coming to destroy Romanian boxing, we came to help it to achieve performances again”, said Salazar.
Jorge Luis Mayeta Suarez cannot represent Romania until he is naturalized. Photo source: Romanian Boxing Federation
19-year-old Mayeta said she feels “at home” in Romania and thanked the Federation for the support she received.
I came to represent Romania and I am very grateful for the support I received here from the federation management, the members of the technical staff and the colleagues from the Romanian team. Thank you for welcoming me to your home. From the first moment I felt at home here, like in a family. So far I haven't had any problem, I feel very good, I'm happy here.
– Jorge Luis Mayeta Suarez
According to FR Box, Jorge Luis Mayeta Suarez currently has a work permit and a residence permit in Romania, and the documents for naturalization were submitted two months ago.
