Justin Ștefan came up with the reply after the Superliga boss's attack: “Populist fabrication”

The official of the Harghita club gave an interview to the Hungarian press at the end of the first season of the Cicuans in the first league, who finished in 11th place. Szondy, whose club collected 800,000 euros from the TV rights, had a harsh message, accusing a lack of transparency on the part of the LPF and likening the Professional League meetings to “some movies about mobsters”.

In reply, Justin Ștefan wanted to contradict the official from Miercurea Ciuc, claiming that his statements are false. He also contradicted him regarding the amount received from TV rights, which, according to Ștefan, would be over 5 million lei.

Justin Ștefan's reply, after the volcanic statements of the head of Csikszereda

“I noted with surprise the statements of Mr. Szondy Zoltan, president of the FC Csikszereda club, in the interview given to a Hungarian-language newspaper from Romania (Szekelyhon).

And my surprise is caused not only by the false information thrown into the public space and insults, but also by his lordship's attempt to politicize the club's presence in the Super League in a populist manner.

That is why, from the desire to correctly inform the readers of the respective publication, but also the supporters of the team and, in general, any follower of the football phenomenon from us, I bring the following clarifications:

1. The TV rights contract is accessible to any club and the claim that it cannot be consulted is false. In fact, clubs such as Dinamo, FCSB, Craiova, as well as others, requested access to the file according to the procedure, and the LPF made the documents available to them.

2. Viewing the file without recording devices on hand is a normal confidentiality provision of a deal between two private actors and was requested by the company that acquired the rights as well. The beneficiaries of the rights are not deprived of any information.

3. The statement that access to the contract is limited to 10 minutes is also completely false. There is no time limit.

4. The statement that they received only 800,000 euros is not in line with reality either. The amount distributed to the club was 5.19 million lei, according to the grid. I emphasize that this grid was voted by the clubs and is not an obligation imposed by the television rights contract.

5. Regarding the accusation that FC Csikszereda “received only mockery, contempt and permanent attacks” from the Romanian environment, respectively LPF, mass media and supporters who tried “to make us fall”, I consider it a simple populist fabrication used, I hope!, for strategic communication reasons to attract the sympathy of their own supporters.

6. I also convey to them in this way that the LPF does not tolerate the transformation of the football show into a political tool to promote non-existent pressures or conflicts of an ethnic nature on the public agenda. The issue of the flags of the Szeklerland displayed in the stands is regulated by laws in force and, contrary to his lordship's statements that he had already won through the courts the right to use the respective flags, I want to inform the readers that this statement is also inconsistent with reality. There is no final decision at CAS. And the law is neither a whim of some decision-makers in the governing bodies of football nor a concerted action against the club on ethnic grounds.

7. Regarding the characterization of the television rights system in Romania as having a “mafia character”, I draw Mr. Szondy Zoltán's attention to the fact that in Romania, which is a state of law, words carry with them a legal responsibility, not just a symbolic one.

LPF remains a partner of all Superliga clubs and we assure the officials, players, administrative teams and supporters of all teams that we remain dedicated to the goal of improving the ecosystem in which we all operate”, was Justin Ștefan's message.

It smells so bad that, for example, as a manager of one of the 16 teams, we would be allowed to look over the contract between the league and the TV stations for only 10 minutes if we did not bring any phones or cameras with us and if we signed a confidentiality agreement. It's like we're in a movie with mobsters… I don't even feel good in the environment of the professional league

– Zoltan Szondy, president of Csikszereda