Radio România Internațional

Tag: referee

  • Radio Romania International Sports club

    Radio Romania International Sports club



    Headline-hitting these days is the ongoing Football World Cup in Qatar. Surprises have been quick to appear already. Saudi Arabia defeated Argentina, while the refereeing assistance technology has sparked controversies. Representing Romania in Qatar is a crew of three referees. Istvan Kovacs has already been the fourth official referee in the match pitting Qatar against Ecuador. Ovidiu Mihai Artene was a back-up assistant referee for the same match. Linesman Vasile Marinescu is also a member of the referees crew on the job at the World Cup. We recall that the Romanian Ioan Igna was the last official to have been the main referee in a World Cup final tournament, in Mexico, in 1986. A linesman in a final tournament was Nicolae Grigorescu in France, in 1998. However, the Romanian veteran referee was Nicolae Rainea, a three-time delegate in final tournaments. Rainea was a World Cup referee in 1974, in Germany, in 1978, in Argentina, and in 1982, in Spain.



    We need to be honest and say that Romanias national team has been constantly wasting the opportunity to make headway to seniors versions of final tournaments. However, Romanian national teams run in the U-21 version of the final tournament was way above par. We recall that in 2019 Romania reached as far as the semi-finals of the European Championship. In 2023, the European U-21 Championship will be jointly hosted by Romania and Georgia, so our U-21 team will qualify be default.



    Head-coach Emil Sandois trainees have recently played two training matches. They defeated second-league leader, Steaua, 4-2, and were held to a 2-all draw by League One team FC Argeş. In March 2023, Romanias U-21 national team will play two friendly matches, against Portugal and Germany. Romania will be joining Spain, Ukraine and Croatia in the 2023 edition of the European U-21 Championship. (EN)




  • Radio Romania International Sports club

    Radio Romania International Sports club



    Headline-hitting these days is the ongoing Football World Cup in Qatar. Surprises have been quick to appear already. Saudi Arabia defeated Argentina, while the refereeing assistance technology has sparked controversies. Representing Romania in Qatar is a crew of three referees. Istvan Kovacs has already been the fourth official referee in the match pitting Qatar against Ecuador. Ovidiu Mihai Artene was a back-up assistant referee for the same match. Linesman Vasile Marinescu is also a member of the referees crew on the job at the World Cup. We recall that the Romanian Ioan Igna was the last official to have been the main referee in a World Cup final tournament, in Mexico, in 1986. A linesman in a final tournament was Nicolae Grigorescu in France, in 1998. However, the Romanian veteran referee was Nicolae Rainea, a three-time delegate in final tournaments. Rainea was a World Cup referee in 1974, in Germany, in 1978, in Argentina, and in 1982, in Spain.



    We need to be honest and say that Romanias national team has been constantly wasting the opportunity to make headway to seniors versions of final tournaments. However, Romanian national teams run in the U-21 version of the final tournament was way above par. We recall that in 2019 Romania reached as far as the semi-finals of the European Championship. In 2023, the European U-21 Championship will be jointly hosted by Romania and Georgia, so our U-21 team will qualify be default.



    Head-coach Emil Sandois trainees have recently played two training matches. They defeated second-league leader, Steaua, 4-2, and were held to a 2-all draw by League One team FC Argeş. In March 2023, Romanias U-21 national team will play two friendly matches, against Portugal and Germany. Romania will be joining Spain, Ukraine and Croatia in the 2023 edition of the European U-21 Championship. (EN)




  • Radio Romania International Sports club

    Radio Romania International Sports club

    The domestic League One football championship, as of this year labelled
    The Super League, has been recently resumed. After the first games, top of the
    table is the newly-promoted FC Hermannstadt, thanks to
    a most consistent 3-nil win against CS Mioveni. Otherwise, the debut round has
    not come up with big surprises. However, the most unexpected result was provided
    by the National Arena match, where FCSB have been held by another newly-promoted
    team, Universitatea Cluj, to a 1-all draw. Guest team Universitatea was the first
    ones to score. Matches counting towards the next round will be played from Friday
    and all through to Monday, while the round’s headline-hitting game is the all-time
    derby pitting Rapid Bucharest against FCSB.


    The refereeing video assistance system, VAR, has been implemented
    in the Romanian Super League as a novelty for Romanian football. In the first
    round, the system was frequently used, which triggered a lot of controversies
    as the VAR cabin referees did not give their feedback on certain phases of play
    which the main referee may have found hard to notice on the pitch.


    Four Romanian football teams prove their mettle in the
    European Conference League’s second preliminary round. In an away fixture, FCSB
    takes on Georgian opponents Saburtalo, in Gori. If they advance to the third
    round, FCSB play Vikingur, of the Faeroe Islands or Slovakia’s Dunajska Streda.
    Having been eliminated from the Champions League preliminaries, CFR Cluj plays
    a home game against Inter d’Escaldes of Andorra. If they
    make headway into the competition, CFR Cluj will face Belarus team Shakhtar Soligorsk,
    On Thursday, Romanian Cup winners Sepsi Sfantu Gheorghe play a home game
    against Slovenia’s Olimpija Ljubljana. If
    they advance to the competition’s third round, Sepsi may play Rijeka of
    Croatia, or Swedish team Djurgaardens. In Shkoder, Albania, Universitatea
    Craiova faces Vllaznia, and if they advance to the next round, Universitatea
    will take on Ukrainian side Zarya Lugansk. (EN)

  • Radio Romania International Sports club

    Radio Romania International Sports club

    The domestic League One football championship, as of this year labelled
    The Super League, has been recently resumed. After the first games, top of the
    table is the newly-promoted FC Hermannstadt, thanks to
    a most consistent 3-nil win against CS Mioveni. Otherwise, the debut round has
    not come up with big surprises. However, the most unexpected result was provided
    by the National Arena match, where FCSB have been held by another newly-promoted
    team, Universitatea Cluj, to a 1-all draw. Guest team Universitatea was the first
    ones to score. Matches counting towards the next round will be played from Friday
    and all through to Monday, while the round’s headline-hitting game is the all-time
    derby pitting Rapid Bucharest against FCSB.


    The refereeing video assistance system, VAR, has been implemented
    in the Romanian Super League as a novelty for Romanian football. In the first
    round, the system was frequently used, which triggered a lot of controversies
    as the VAR cabin referees did not give their feedback on certain phases of play
    which the main referee may have found hard to notice on the pitch.


    Four Romanian football teams prove their mettle in the
    European Conference League’s second preliminary round. In an away fixture, FCSB
    takes on Georgian opponents Saburtalo, in Gori. If they advance to the third
    round, FCSB play Vikingur, of the Faeroe Islands or Slovakia’s Dunajska Streda.
    Having been eliminated from the Champions League preliminaries, CFR Cluj plays
    a home game against Inter d’Escaldes of Andorra. If they
    make headway into the competition, CFR Cluj will face Belarus team Shakhtar Soligorsk,
    On Thursday, Romanian Cup winners Sepsi Sfantu Gheorghe play a home game
    against Slovenia’s Olimpija Ljubljana. If
    they advance to the competition’s third round, Sepsi may play Rijeka of
    Croatia, or Swedish team Djurgaardens. In Shkoder, Albania, Universitatea
    Craiova faces Vllaznia, and if they advance to the next round, Universitatea
    will take on Ukrainian side Zarya Lugansk. (EN)

  • Romania at the Olympic Games

    Romania at the Olympic Games

    Romania’s national football team has booked its ticket
    to the Tokyo Olympic Games following a 56-year gap. We recall that the last time
    Romanian took part in an edition of the Olympics was also in Japan, in 1964.


    Romania’s national team back then had a spectacular
    qualification trail for the Olympics. Two preliminary rounds had been required
    in order to achieve that. In the first leg against Denmark, Romania succeeded a
    3-2 win, away, and everybody was pretty relaxed regarding the return home leg.
    It’s just that the Danish did not agree to that, so much so that in Bucharest,
    they had grabbed a 3-nil advantage halfway through the first half of the match.


    Yet Romania scored twice and a play-off match
    followed, according to regulations, which was hosted by Turin in Italy. After
    90 minutes of regular play, the display of the scoreboard showed 1-all. Extra
    time had to be played, and in 117th minute, the winning goal was
    scored by Mircea Sasu, who played for the B-division team Minerul Baia Mare.
    The second preliminary round saw Romania facing Bulgaria. Back then Romania
    made short work of their opponents, winning 2-1 on home turf and 1-nil, away.


    In the Olympic tournament, Romania was ascribed to
    Group A, alongside Mexico, Iran, and the so-called team of united Germany,
    actually an East-German lineup. On October 11, 1964, Romania defeated Mexico,
    3-1. Then on October 13, a 1-all draw followed, against Germany. On October 15,
    Romania grabbed a 1-nil win against Iran and then made it to the quarterfinals,
    being the runner-up team in Group A while the team from East Germany was at the
    top of the table.


    One of the best teams at that time, Hungary, was Romania’s
    challenger in the fight for a place in the semifinals. In the game venued by a
    stadium in Yokohama, on October 18, 1964, Hungary’s Tibor Csernai drew first blood
    on 2 minutes. Romania’s captain Gheorghe Constantin wasted the team’s biggest
    chance to level the score when the referee granted Romania a penalty kick six
    minutes before the final whistle. Hungary did turn into a goal the penalty kick
    they were granted shortly afterwards, again thanks to Tibor Csernai. In the
    semifinals, Hungary trounced Egypt, 6-nil, also winning the final against
    Czechoslovakia, 2-1.

  • Sports weekend

    Sports weekend

    Romanian national women’s handball team has wasted any
    opportunity they had to make headway into the semifinals of the European
    Championship, underway in Denmark. In Krolung on Thursday, in a match counting
    towards main Group II, Romania sustained a 20-25 defeat by Croatia. Romania has
    zero points on their record sheet; our national team’s next scheduled fixture
    is the match against Hungary, on December 14.


    In news from football, CFR Cluj came in 3rd
    in Europa League’s Group A and failed to qualify for the competition’s round of
    32. On Thursday, CFR sustained a 1-2 away defeat in the decisive match against
    Swiss opponents Young Boys Berne. CFR’s Croat footballer Gabriel Debeljuh drew
    first blood on 84 minutes. Then on 90 minutes, French referee Benoit Bastien
    granted the Swiss a penalty kick because of an otherwise fair-play clash
    between CFR’s goalie and Swiss defender Cédric Zesiger. Young Boys Berne’s Cameroonian footballer Jean-Pierre Nsame turned
    the kick into a goal and levelled the score. The fate of the match was sealed
    in the 6th minute of added time, when the German Gianluca Gaudino scored his team’s second
    goal.


    The coming weekend will see matches being played,
    counting towards the 13th round of League One championship. On
    Friday, FC Botosani are pitted against Astra Giurgiu, while Dinamo Bucharest
    face Politehnica Iasi. On Saturday, Academica Clinceni play a home fixture
    against FC Arges. In Medias, the local team Gaz Metan face Sepsi Sfantu
    Gheorghe. The southern Romanian town of Giurgiu, Chindia Targoviste go against
    Viitorul Constanta. On Sunday, FC Hermannstadt face FC Voluntari, while CFR
    Cluj are pitted against FCSB. On Monday in the last match of round 13, UTA Arad
    play Universitatea Craiova. FCSB are at the top of the table, with 30 points,
    followed by Universitatea Craiova, with 28 points and CFR Cluj, with 24.


    (Translation by Eugen Nasta)


    ——-



  • Sports weekend

    Sports weekend

    Romanian national women’s handball team has wasted any
    opportunity they had to make headway into the semifinals of the European
    Championship, underway in Denmark. In Krolung on Thursday, in a match counting
    towards main Group II, Romania sustained a 20-25 defeat by Croatia. Romania has
    zero points on their record sheet; our national team’s next scheduled fixture
    is the match against Hungary, on December 14.


    In news from football, CFR Cluj came in 3rd
    in Europa League’s Group A and failed to qualify for the competition’s round of
    32. On Thursday, CFR sustained a 1-2 away defeat in the decisive match against
    Swiss opponents Young Boys Berne. CFR’s Croat footballer Gabriel Debeljuh drew
    first blood on 84 minutes. Then on 90 minutes, French referee Benoit Bastien
    granted the Swiss a penalty kick because of an otherwise fair-play clash
    between CFR’s goalie and Swiss defender Cédric Zesiger. Young Boys Berne’s Cameroonian footballer Jean-Pierre Nsame turned
    the kick into a goal and levelled the score. The fate of the match was sealed
    in the 6th minute of added time, when the German Gianluca Gaudino scored his team’s second
    goal.


    The coming weekend will see matches being played,
    counting towards the 13th round of League One championship. On
    Friday, FC Botosani are pitted against Astra Giurgiu, while Dinamo Bucharest
    face Politehnica Iasi. On Saturday, Academica Clinceni play a home fixture
    against FC Arges. In Medias, the local team Gaz Metan face Sepsi Sfantu
    Gheorghe. The southern Romanian town of Giurgiu, Chindia Targoviste go against
    Viitorul Constanta. On Sunday, FC Hermannstadt face FC Voluntari, while CFR
    Cluj are pitted against FCSB. On Monday in the last match of round 13, UTA Arad
    play Universitatea Craiova. FCSB are at the top of the table, with 30 points,
    followed by Universitatea Craiova, with 28 points and CFR Cluj, with 24.


    (Translation by Eugen Nasta)


    ——-



  • Sports weekend

    Sports weekend


    A new edition of domestic League One
    football championship starts this coming weekend. The competition has a new
    format as compared to the previous season, with 16 teams competing instead of
    14. At the end of the regular season, teams ranking 1st to 6th will be included
    in Group 1, where fixtures will be played on a double-legged-tie system, therefore
    counting ten rounds. Teams ranking 7th to 16th will still
    play in Group 2, where fixtures will be played on a single-legged basis, along
    nine rounds all told. Top-of-the-table team in Group 1 secures its ticket for
    the Champions League’s preliminary round, while the runner-up team plays in
    Europa League’s qualifiers. The team ranking 3rd in Group 1 will play
    a playoff fixture against the team that wins the playoff confrontation pitting
    Group 2’s top-of-the-table team against 2nd- ranked team in the same group, with both
    teams vying for the 2nd position in Europa League. Group 2’s 9th
    and 10th ranked teams will be relegated, while League Two’s 1st
    and 2nd ranked teams will be promoted to League One. Group 2’s 7th
    and 8th-ranked teams will play a playoff fixture against League
    Two’s 3rd-and 4th-placed teams.


    On
    Friday, in a match counting towards the 1st round of the new
    competitions season, FC Arges face FC Botosani. On Saturday, Viitorul Constanta
    play a home game against newly-promoted team UTA Arad. In Sfantu Gheorghe, the local
    side Sepsi take on Universitatea Craiova, while in Giurgiu, the local side Astra
    play a home match against FCSB from Bucharest. On Sunday, Poli Iasi play a home
    game against Chindia Targoviste, while defending champions CFR Cluj travel to
    Clinceni, for a match against the local side Academica. The round’s two last
    fixtures are scheduled this coming Monday, when FC Voluntari take on Gaz Metan
    Mediaş, while Dinamo Bucharest play FC Hermannstadt.


    The
    Romanian referee Ovidiu Haţegan has been appointed a back-up referee for the Champions
    League finals pitting PSG against Bayern Munich. The match will be played in
    Lisbon this coming Sunday, according to the Romanian Football Federation’s
    official page. The Romanian main referee thus joins the team headed by the
    Italian Daniele Orsato. The assistant referees with be two other Italians, Lorenzo
    Manganelli and Alessandro Giallatini.


    The
    second stage of the national all-women rally, Women Rally, will be held in
    Bucharest on Sunday, under the aegis of the Sports Automobile Romanian Federation.
    The first stage was held in Timisoara in July, while the third stage of the
    competition will be held in Cluj-Napoca in October.

    (Translation by Eugen Nasta)

  • Sports weekend

    Sports weekend


    A new edition of domestic League One
    football championship starts this coming weekend. The competition has a new
    format as compared to the previous season, with 16 teams competing instead of
    14. At the end of the regular season, teams ranking 1st to 6th will be included
    in Group 1, where fixtures will be played on a double-legged-tie system, therefore
    counting ten rounds. Teams ranking 7th to 16th will still
    play in Group 2, where fixtures will be played on a single-legged basis, along
    nine rounds all told. Top-of-the-table team in Group 1 secures its ticket for
    the Champions League’s preliminary round, while the runner-up team plays in
    Europa League’s qualifiers. The team ranking 3rd in Group 1 will play
    a playoff fixture against the team that wins the playoff confrontation pitting
    Group 2’s top-of-the-table team against 2nd- ranked team in the same group, with both
    teams vying for the 2nd position in Europa League. Group 2’s 9th
    and 10th ranked teams will be relegated, while League Two’s 1st
    and 2nd ranked teams will be promoted to League One. Group 2’s 7th
    and 8th-ranked teams will play a playoff fixture against League
    Two’s 3rd-and 4th-placed teams.


    On
    Friday, in a match counting towards the 1st round of the new
    competitions season, FC Arges face FC Botosani. On Saturday, Viitorul Constanta
    play a home game against newly-promoted team UTA Arad. In Sfantu Gheorghe, the local
    side Sepsi take on Universitatea Craiova, while in Giurgiu, the local side Astra
    play a home match against FCSB from Bucharest. On Sunday, Poli Iasi play a home
    game against Chindia Targoviste, while defending champions CFR Cluj travel to
    Clinceni, for a match against the local side Academica. The round’s two last
    fixtures are scheduled this coming Monday, when FC Voluntari take on Gaz Metan
    Mediaş, while Dinamo Bucharest play FC Hermannstadt.


    The
    Romanian referee Ovidiu Haţegan has been appointed a back-up referee for the Champions
    League finals pitting PSG against Bayern Munich. The match will be played in
    Lisbon this coming Sunday, according to the Romanian Football Federation’s
    official page. The Romanian main referee thus joins the team headed by the
    Italian Daniele Orsato. The assistant referees with be two other Italians, Lorenzo
    Manganelli and Alessandro Giallatini.


    The
    second stage of the national all-women rally, Women Rally, will be held in
    Bucharest on Sunday, under the aegis of the Sports Automobile Romanian Federation.
    The first stage was held in Timisoara in July, while the third stage of the
    competition will be held in Cluj-Napoca in October.

    (Translation by Eugen Nasta)