Article by Andrei Crăiţoiu – Published Tuesday, 09 June 2026, 15:19 / Updated Tuesday, 09 June 2026 15:30
SCM Alba Iulia Union decided to go to TAS and contest the promotion barrage in League 2! ♦ Everything comes after disclosures published by GSP about the CSL Ștefăneşti de Jos club ♦ The group from Ilfov appears in the FRF with a two-point deduction, in which case it should not have benefited from direct promotion to the second league ♦ Promotion barriers could be overturned.
- CONTEXT:
- On June 3, in a document signed and stamped by Elena Cochet, it is clearly stated that the FRF sanctions “CSL Ștefănești de Jos with the prohibition of the right to transfer and/or legitimize players (…) and the reduction of points (…), respectively the depointing of two points for the period 13.05.2026 – 27.05.2026”.
- On June 4, at Băneasa Mall, player David-Andrei Dănăilă was summoned by the mayor of Ștefănești de Jos commune, Virgiliu Mircea Daniel Gheorghiță, to sign a payment agreement and three receipts, which the footballer denounced as being dated. He claims that the documents were “signed after the sanctioning decision”, as he complained to the FRF.
- ALL DOCUMENTS can be read here
The promotion to League 2 is turned upside down! Chaos at FRF
It is a scandal of major proportions in League 2, and Romanian football once again reaches the Court of Arbitration for Sport (TAS) in Lausanne.
This time, following the revelations published on Saturday, June 6, on GSP.ro, about those from CSL Ștefănești de Jos, who are suspected of falsifying documents in a case concerning former player David-Andrei Dănăilă.
All after the club had been penalized with a two-point deduction, which would not have earned them direct promotion from League 3.
If the said deduction had been taken into account, Ștefăneşti de Jos would have ended up playing two play-off matches, with Gura Humorului Eagles and CSM Unirea Alba Iulia. Directly promoted in this situation would have been Popești Leordeni.
The decision of June 3 of the Disciplinary Commission within the Romanian Football Federation
Three days after the revelations appeared, the officials of CSM Unirea Alba Iulia, the club that lost, 0-2, the play-off final against those from Popești-Leordeni, decided to address the CAS in this case.
“We have initiated official proceedings at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, in relation to the situation created following the decision of the Disciplinary and Ethics Commission of the FRF regarding the CSL Ștefăneștii de Jos club and its effects on the promotion tournament in League 2”it is stated in the press release of the Transylvanian club.
CSM Unirea Alba Iulia goes to TAS: “Respecting the principles of fairness”
Today, the director of the club, Mircea Radu Urcan, together with the deputy mayor of Alba Iulia, Marius Filimon, went to the headquarters of the Romanian Football Federation for discussions on this situation.
The official press release from CSM Unirea Alba Iulia
“Through the application submitted to the TAS, the club requests an analysis of the way the tournament was organized to establish the fifth team promoted from League 3 to League 2. CSM Unirea Alba Iulia believes that it has a direct and legitimate sporting interest, considering the team's participation in the promotion tournament and qualification in its final,” reads the official statement published on the club's information platforms.
“Through this approach, the club aims to clarify the situation and respect the principles of sports fairness and equity”it is also shown in the announcement of the team from Alba Iulia.
On June 17, on the table of the Disciplinary Commission there is a new deadline to determine if the player David-Andrei Dănăilă has received his financial arrears after the date of the first depointing decision. According to his own statement, the footballer claims that he received his money on June 4, a day after the de-pointing decision, a fact that could blow up promotion barriers.
From our point of view, it is a closed topic and we will see on June 17 what decision the Disciplinary Commission will make. We hope, and I'm sure, that we won't be relegated and will stay in League 2, because we promoted on the pitch. If, hypothetically, the punctuation remains in effect, we will see what happens. All dams could be replayed
George Daniel Bozieru, president of CSL Ștefăneștii de Jos
Stefanestiu answered them on Facebook
In a comment to the official post of CSM Unirea Alba Iulia, those from Ștefănești claim that “we consider it necessary to specify the fact that CSL Ștefănești de Jos has fully paid the claim requested by the player who is the subject of this discussion and has fulfilled all its legal and regulatory obligations towards him”.
The answer from CSL Ștefăneștii de Jos
“In the procedure before the Disciplinary and Ethics Commission of the FRF, all the necessary supporting documents were submitted, including the postal order attesting the sending within the legal term of the proof of the payment of the financial obligations to the respective player”, the response also states.
Noting at the end of the post: “We have full confidence that, following the review of the case and the analysis of all the submitted evidence, the Disciplinary Commission will find that the regulatory obligations have been duly respected and will issue a fair and just solution. CSL Ștefăneștii de Jos remains consistent with the principles of fair play, institutional respect and legality, avoiding public speculation until the final resolution of this case by the competent bodies“.
