October 6 – The Romanian league is the latest to experience racist abuse after Concordia Chiajna’s Brazilian striker Wellington complained about persistent insults from visiting Rapid Bucharest supporters.
The striker was seen in tears at the end of the match after TV footage showed supporters making monkey gestures and racial slurs.
“It’s incredible what happened … my wife and my child were in the stands,” Wellington told local media. “I wanted to get off the field. I told the referee and he gave me a yellow card. Those who did that are idiots, and I hope the federation will do something about it.”
Rapid’s coach Marian Rada reacted in a quite extraordinary way afterwards when he appeared in total denial.
“Was he crying? Don’t you see what’s happening in theatres? Maybe Wellington should have cried because he didn’t score,” he said after the 0-0 draw. “How do we know it was a Rapid fan? Maybe a banana just slipped out of someone’s hand in the stands.”
At the same time, Romanian police said an investigation has been launched after a Rapid Bucharest fan entered the stadium in Chiajna with a flag with Nazi symbols printed on it.