Romania has been a member of the EU since January 1, 2007, and has still not
managed to implement the directives/laws from Brussels.
Neither in the fight against doping nor in the area of good governance has the sports
leadership made any effort to accept/respect the White Paper on European Sport.
In total, there are 51 associations, including the NOC, that are legally unlawful and
conduct illegal activities with public funds.
Here are a few examples:
The Romanian Football Federation (under investigation by the courts, which have
ruled the Bucharest clubs association illegal) and the Romanian Tennis Federation are
at the forefront of a corrupt system that is tolerated by the government.
Professional football clubs, as public limited companies, are financed with public
funds.
In the same way, basketball, handball, ice hockey, volleyball, and rugby clubs receive
state funds, contrary to the rules of the free market economy, where fair competition
must be observed in accordance with the constitution.
Olympic bonuses of unimaginable amounts (even by Western standards) are
forwarded by the Romanian Rowing Federation to the NOC to pay fees to officials
rather than athletes.
The Romanian Knau Association, which “won” the most medals in Paris, received a
total of €10 million in bonuses, calculated by the NOC, which was supposed to
approve and pay the amount.
Of this, €8 million went to athletes and the remaining €2 million to coaches and
officials.
All public funds…!
For the head coach, it’s €475,000 from the NOC plus 50% from another pot (Club
Dinamo Bucharest), which brought the total to €714,000.
€309,000 for each of the 5 assistant coaches.
€238,000 for each of the 8 other assistant coaches.
€1 million for 39 “scouts.”
And €500,000 for “specialists and technicians.”
The administrative staff, including the chief accountant and the general secretary,
were also to be paid €162,000 each as members of the team.
I note that there is unprecedented arbitrariness in the European area, supported by
Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, who is also president of the Socialist Party (PSD),
and by Vice President Elisabeta Lipa, the current head of the Romanian National
Sports Agency and vice president of the NOC.
This is a clear conflict of interest between politics, government, and sport in the
person of Elisabeta Lipa, as she holds three offices at the same time.
These sums as bonuses for the rowing association also show bilatant discrimination
against other medal winners from Paris.
Incidentally, Olympic swimming champion David Popovici received “only”
€142,000 as a bonus, compared to the huge sums paid by the canoeing association!
This file also includes the sums with which the Romanian Gymnastics Federation
intends to pay its employees: €42,000 for the masseur, €20,000 for the psychologist,
€12,000 for the secretary general, and €20,000 for the president.
The Romanian government and the National Agency for Sport officially state that the
entire operation complies with the law and are surprised by the investigative press
coverage.
However, journalists disagree and are attacking all those involved in the complete
calculation and decision-making process regarding state funds – namely the
Government, the National Agency for Sport, and the NOC.
An open letter from MP Daniel Ghita with questions for PM Marcel Ciolacu
remained unanswered.
The letter referred to government control of the National Sports Agency as part of the
Romanian executive.
The question of whether any of the €10 million bonus was used or should be used as
a “push back” donation also remained unanswered.
In the meantime, the government has also provided the 428 employees of the Agency
for Sport (directors and department heads) with generous bonuses from public funds.
@ The White Paper on European Sport / §165 of the European Treaties
The Romanian Agency for Sport still refuses to implement this in Romania in 2025.
This paragraph clearly states, that the members of national federations should be
private clubs and not clubs belonging to states and governments.
As a result, the Anti-Corruption Authority has filed a complaint against the head of
the National Sports Agency, Elisabeth Lipa.
Conclusion:
This conflict shows how unfair, immoral, and incompetent the sports system in
Romania has become.
And the trend is rising!
