A wave of outrage and anxiety is sweeping over Romania’s Hungarian community following a series of assaults and acts of harassment targeting members of the ethnic minority who comprise six percent of the country’s population. These incidents have reignited concerns that amidst a surge of popular support for far-right political parties in Romania authorities are doing too little to combat hate crimes against ethnic minorities.

“Speaking Hungarian Should Not Be a Risk” –
Families of Cluj Assault Victims Call for Justice

THE FIRSTINCIDENT – an assault against ethnic Hungarian youths – occurred in Cluj-Napoca/Kolozsvár on the evening of Monday, March 31^st. The attack took place in the city’s Central Park immediately after a soccer match between the FC Universitatea Cluj – often referred to as “U Cluj” – and its cross-town rival, CF

R 1907 – or “CFR” – that was held in the nearby Cluj Arena. The assailants targeted two young men, aged 19, who assert that they first retreated but were then pursued by their attackers and assaulted again. One victim was struck in the face with a bottle, causing a nasal fracture that required hospitalization.

Statements from the victims and their families suggest that ethnic prejudice played a role in the attackers’ motivations. Speaking to Știri de Cluj, a local Romanian-language news outlet, the uncle of one of the victims indicated that their attackers targeted them because they were speaking in Hungarian. While recovering from his injuries, one of the assaulted youths spoke with Maszol, a Hungarian-language newspaper, and reiterated this suspicion: “We think they attacked us because we were speaking in Hungarian, since we didn’t have any logos or objects with us to indicate we were CFR supporters. This is the only reason that my friends and I can imagine for what happened.”

Though both clubs have ethnic Romanian fans, the association between CFR and Cluj’s Hungarian community remains strong, such that sports commentators and fans sometimes frame matches between the rival teams as a competition between Cluj’s Romanian and Hungarian communities.

This would not be the first instance of ethnic Hungarians being targeted for harassment within the Romanian soccer world. U Cluj fans have several, explicitly anti-Hungarian chants they routinely shout at rallies and soccer matches. There is also precedent for this rivalry manifesting as violence against Hungarians in Cluj. In 2007, U Cluj supporters assaulted an ethnic Hungarian – allegedly a CFR fan – in the city, beating him so severely that he fell into a coma and died of his injuries. In 2017, U Cluj fans also attacked a party of Hungarian CFR supporters and their families holding a Labor Day celebration in a Cluj city park.

SECOND INCIDENT IN SZÉKELYREGION

On Thursday, April 3^rd, fans of the Steaua Bucharest soccer club traveled to the Székely Region, the ethnic Hungarian-majority inhabited area of Romania, to attend a match against FK Csíkszereda in the town of Miercurea Ciuc/Csíkszereda. The fans committed several anti-Hungarian provocations during the course of their trip:

• In Sancraieni/Csíkszentkirály, several people tore down and stole a Székely flag – a prominent symbol of the ethnic Hungarian community in Romania.
• Later the same day, another group of Steaua Bucharest fans unfurled a banner in Miercurea Ciuc’s central square with messages that made veiled threats against ethnic Hungarians and accused t
  hem of conspiring to change the country’s borders, a baseless accusation often repeated by Romanian nationalists.
• During the soccer match that took place that evening in the city, Steaua Bucharest fans also continuously chanted anti-Hungarian slogans, the most common one was the “classic:” “Afară, afară cu ungurii din țară!” (Out with the Hungarians from the country!)

The banner reads:Your territorial demands are shameless; really you are all lowly beggars.

MINORITY DEMANDS CONCERTED ACTION

Shocked by these acts of violence and harassment, ethnic Hungarian political leaders and community organizations in Romania have responded with demands that authorities take concerted action against the offenders. Hunor Kelemen, president of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (RMDSZ) wrote on Facebook on April 2, 2025 that he was “not willing to accept the argument that these are just isolated cases,” arguing “the state often turns a blind eye” to “extremist, anti-Hungarian political parties” that incite against Romania’s Hungarian community.

In fact, Cluj police released a statement on Wednesday, April 2^nd confirming the March 31^st assault had taken place and was under investigation but also suggested that anti-Hungarian sentiment did not play a role in the attack. Longtime Cluj mayor Emil Boc, who is also a major financial backer of U Cluj, released a similar statement suggesting ethnic prejudice played no role in the attack. Neither press release provided alternative explanations for the unidentified attackers’ motivations.

Speaking to Maszol on Saturday, April 5^th, Botond Csoma, an RMDSZ representative for Cluj County in the Romanian parliament, called the statements from the mayor’s office and the Cluj police “hasty,” stating that anti-Hungarian motivations could not be ruled out in such an early stage of the investigation, before the attackers had even been apprehended. He further argued that the police statement fits into a broader pattern of law enforcement agencies in Romania failing to take seriously the threats posed to Romania’s ethnic minorities, including Jews, as well as Hungarians.

POLLS SHOW EXTREMIST PARTY LEADS WITH 33 PERCENT

These incidents come amidst a surge of popular support for nationalist political parties. In March, independent far-right politician Călin Georgescu – widely considered to be the frontrunner for the May presidential election at the time – was barred from entering the race by the Central Electoral Bureau (BEC). Romanian prosecutors have charged Georgescu with a host of crimes allegedly committed during his fall campaign for the presidency, including violations of hate speech laws stemming from his support for the Romanian ultranationalist “Iron Guard” movement of the 1930s and 1940s. A core component of Iron Guard ideology included hostility to Hungarians, Jews, and other ethnic minorities in Romania.

Since the BEC’s decision to block Georgescu’s candidacy for the presidency, his endorsed successor, George Simion, has risen to the top of the opinion polls. As leader of the nationalistic Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) party, Simion has made many hostile statements towards the Hungarian minority. He also played a leading role in instigating the 2019 clashes at the Valea Uzului/Úzvölgye military cemetery, which left several ethnic Hungarian demonstrators injured.

PERPETRATORS APPREHENDED

Cluj police announced on the evening of April 2^nd that they had taken into custody one alleged attacker implicated in the Cluj assault, a 38-year-old man. Sancraieni police also announced on an official Facebook page that the Steaua Bucharest fans responsible for defacing and stealing the Székely flag had been identified and would face punishment.

THIRD ATTACK

“In this country, sport is mostly about the expression of anti-Hungarian hatred”

Less than two weeks later, on April 13, fans of Romanian Third Division team SR Municipal Brasov/Brassó broke through the stadium’s security fence and attacked players of the visiting team, Székelyudvarhely FC, representing the Hungarian-majority town of Odorheiu Secuiesc in the Székely Region.

The Hungarian players were physically assaulted while fans remaining in the stands openly chanted anti-Hungarian slogans. Players Levente Bara and Csongor Berkeczi both sustained physical injuries, and other team members were only able to avoid attacks by fleeing to the locker room.

“These acts affect not only the individuals involved but our entire community,” states the Mikó Imre Legal Protection Service’s April 15 report, saying it will be filing a formal complaint with the appropriate authorities.

“Romanian authorities must send a clear signal that anti-Hungarian sentiment will no longer be allowed to spread throughout society. It is frightening and disheartening that in this country, sport is mostly about the expression of anti-Hungarian hatred.” – Erika Benkő, director of the Mikó Imre Legal Protection Service

Photo:  Székelyudvarhelyi FC/László Zsolt

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