Article by Tudor Belivacă – Published on Saturday, 09 May 2026, 00:11 / Updated on Saturday, 09 May 2026 00:19
Iuliu Mureșan, the president of CFR Cluj, went live after his team's 0-0 draw with Universitatea Craiova, in a match in stage #8 of the Superliga play-off.
The official from CFR Cluj spoke about the controversial phase at the start of the second half when Cordea shot at Adrian Rus in the box, but no penalty was awarded for an offside in the build-up to Lorenzo Biliboc. On replays the lines are drawn at the feet of the players, although it looks like they may have other body parts closer to the target area. It is not clear from the replays whether the decision was correct or not. anduliu Mureșan called the offside a “spell” and harshly criticized the referee in the VAR room, Marcel Bîrsan.
Iuliu Mureșan: “Bîrsan is a referee that no team in the Superliga wants. I am convinced that there is something”
“Bîrsan is a referee that no one wants in the Superliga. I haven't said this for a long time, but now I'm convinced that it's something. Both as a referee and as a VAR. Someone wrote to me that it was an offside spell. That was it, an offside spell. He had to be much clearer, to draw more lines, to draw a projection more from the shoulder. He sits more bent and it looks like the shoulder was more forward. That's it, there's nothing we can do. If the shot that hit the bar went in, it was empty and that was it. We are shooting for 3rd place and we are still working not to finish lower than third place. Then I consider that we have achieved our objective. Second place is possible, but we have to secure 3rd place.
I say Vassaras needs to say something about this phase. Lines must be drawn exactly, not on a guess. It seems that the shoulder is further forward than the leg and then it was no longer offside. Even on these lines, it doesn't seem very clear offside to me, but let's say. The shoulder was beyond the line. That's how it seemed to me, and not only to me. Everyone said. I told you: Bîrsan, Bîrsan, is a big name in Romanian arbitration. I'm not a specialist, but the explanation is an offside spell”, Iuliu Mureșan said on the Digi Sport Special show.
The team of referees from the match at the stadium in Gruia:
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Referee: Istvan Kovacs // A1: Ferencz Tunyogi // A2: Ionuț Neacșu
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VAR Referee: Marcel Bîrsan // Assistant VAR: Cosmin Bojan
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Book: Iulian Calin // Obs. referees: Zoltan Szekely
