“At that moment I left”

In Charlotte, in 1971, there was the second final of the Davis Cup between Romania and the USA. The Americans had won the first, two years before, at Cleveland. They would also impose themselves in the third, in 1972, in Bucharest.

54 years after the final in Charlotte, Ion Tiriac remembered what happened in the opening of the final. The American organizers committed a joke and did not put the official anthem of Romania.

The moment when Tiriac committed a scandalous skid. He called the Americans “disabled” and left the field.

Ion Țiriac, skidding to the Americans: “You are disabled”

“Dom'le, I was more fortunate than others. I was lucky and alone. I was born on Tache Ionescu at number 3, in Brasov. It could happen to give me another honorary passport, but I am still Romanian. Also on the Romanian passport I have lived all my life.

We were privileged, me and Nastase. One thing that many have not had. And it's hard to tell anyone. Starting from Nenea Donald (no – Trump) and ending with Vladi (no – Putin). You had no visa, you didn't go out. We had. That was the only difference.

He sang the anthem about 400 and some times. I defended my country anywhere. And in the United States. Few know that they didn't notice it. Neither did Ceausescu notice. And I was surprised.

On Saturday, at the official opening of our second final, the anthem sings. And they begin to sing their anthem, they are very righteous, dressed in blazers, because we got used to it. And then the king begins “live in peace and honor, and loving.” I looked at all my colleagues and I got off the field. I was asked what happened.

«I have a hymn of my country, if you are disabled … if you 'f **** ng handicapped, f *** ing handicapped». The next day they made my opening again, singing. No, that I was great, that I was not a member of the Communist Party, “said Ion Țiriac, at the podcast” Sports School “, quoted by Golazo.ro.

Ion Țiriac and Ilie Nastase