The Romanian Football Federation’s disciplinary committee fined Bucharest-based Dinamo FC 11,250 Romanian lei (approx. USD 2360) on October 21, 2026, following anti-Hungarian incidents during the club’s match against Sepsi OSK.

During the October 9 match in Sfântu Gheorghe/Sepsiszentgyörgy, a city in central Romania with a large ethnic Hungarian population, some Dinamo supporters chanted xenophobic and anti-Hungarian slogans in the second half. According to media reports and a formal complaint filed by the city’s mayor, the chants incited hatred against the Hungarian community and called for ethnic Hungarians to be expelled from the country.

The referee, Viorel Flueran, briefly suspended play for two minutes. However, Antal Árpád, mayor of Sfântu Gheorghe/Sepsiszentgyörgy, said the interruption did not stop the discriminatory behavior. In his formal complaint, he argued that match officials and security personnel failed to consistently follow the required escalation procedures. These can include a longer suspension, sending both teams to the locker rooms, and, as a last resort, abandoning the match.

Mayor Antal Árpád submitted an official complaint to the Romanian Football Federation (FRF), its president, Răzvan Burleanu, the federation’s Disciplinary and Ethics Commission, and its Central Referees Commission. He argued that the incident should not be treated as ordinary fan misconduct. Ethnically motivated hate speech, he said, violates human dignity, the principle of nondiscrimination, and the fundamental values of sport.

The mayor also emphasized that stadiums are attended by families and children and should never become venues for ethnic hatred or ultranationalist hostility. He warned that inadequate or inconsistent penalties, combined with leniency in previous cases, can foster a sense of impunity. In his view, discriminatory incidents at Romanian football matches point to a persistent problem rather than a series of isolated events.

His complaint called for an urgent review of match reports and audio and video recordings, meaningful disciplinary action against the club and those responsible, and strict enforcement of the three-step protocol used to address racism and discrimination in football.

The Mikó Imre Legal Legal Defence Service, a rights advocacy organization focused on discrimination against the Hungarian community in Romania, also announced plans to submit a complaint to the Romanian Football Federation and bring the incident to the attention of FIFA, the international governing body of soccer.

Erika Benkő, head of the organization, stressed that supporting a team cannot be used as an excuse for inciting ethnic hatred or humiliating a national community. She said the football federation must respond to such incidents promptly, consistently, and predictably. Failure to act appropriately, she warned, could encourage similar behavior in the future.

The organization argues that anti-Hungarian hostility in Romanian football stadiums has become a systemic concern requiring more than disciplinary action after individual incidents. It says consistent preventive measures are also necessary.

Source: HHRF

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