Greed 2.0! Scandalous scenes with the Romanian international » At 18, he put his hands around the referee's throat! The club announces severe measures
Article by Cosmin Nistor – Published on Saturday, 07 March 2026, 15:50 / Updated on Saturday, 07 March 2026 16:11
Scandalous images in the Italian youth championship! Troy Tomsa (18 years old), Romanian junior international and midfielder in Sassuolo's Primavera team, was eliminated after a violent gesture in the match lost 2-5 on Napoli's field. The incident took place in the match of the 29th stage of the Campionato Primavera 1 championship. During the game, Tomșa rushed at the central referee, Mattia Maresca, and grabbed him by the collar of the shirt with both hands.
The Napoli players intervened to remove the Romanian footballer and avoid the escalation of the conflict. The referee immediately awarded the red card.
PHOTO. Troy Tomșa, eliminated after jumping on the referee's neck
What happened? In the 63rd minute, Tomsa made a foul in the middle of the field. The referee blew his whistle, and the Romanian gestured ironically and, most likely, said something offensive. After shouting something at the referee and turning his back, an opponent raised his hands in protest, at which point the referee showed him the red card.
The Italian press notes what followed. QWhile heading to the locker room, the Romanian player turned visibly nervous, approached the referee and came face to face with him, grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pushed him, despite the attempts of an opponent to calm him down.
After the serious incident, Sassuolo published an official statement in which it strongly condemns the gesture of the Romanian midfielder.
US Sassuolo Calcio strongly condemns Troy Tomsa's behavior towards match referee Mattia Maresca during the Campionato Primavera 1 Round 29 match between SSC Napoli and US Sassuolo Calcio.
The club believes that incidents of this type are unacceptable and completely at odds with the values of respect and fair play which are fundamental principles of sport and which Sassuolo Calcio constantly promotes.
The club has already started the necessary internal assessments and will take serious disciplinary action against the player.
Sassuolo Calcio also reaffirms its commitment to promote, through the club's sporting activities and numerous training projects, the educational values that must accompany the development of athletes, both boys and girls.– the statement issued by Sassuolo
On the video summary provided by Sassuolo, you can only see the moment when Tomșa collects the red card. The montage of the Italians does not include the phase in which the Romanian jumps on the neck of the referee:
Ionel Ganea, violent act 19 years ago
The incident recalls a famous moment in Romanian football. In 2007, at a match between Politehnica Timișoara and Rapid Bucharest, former international Ionel Ganea assaulted assistant referee Dorin Mudura.
The former striker then received a suspension of 22 rounds and was fined 14,000 lei, but the Disciplinary Commission reduced the sentence to 16 rounds after Ganea appealed.
Who is Troy Tomsa?
Troy Tomșa was born in England. He played in Romania until 2017, at Sănătatea Cluj, the club where he was trained. He later played at junior level for Hoffenheim and Walldorf.
Since 2020 he is part of Sassuolo's academy. At the international level, the midfielder has collected 25 selections for the Romanian youth teams, in the U17 and U19 categories.
