Rapid rejects Becali's claim that ethnic chants are a nickname as Șumudică calls for penalties

FC Rapid issued an official statement declaring that ethnic origin cannot be used to humiliate people. The club publicly contradicted claims made by Gigi Becali regarding the nature of chants directed at their supporters. Rapid stated it is not possible to equate different situations involving fan behavior. This response followed comments from FCSB officials after a recent derby match.

The dispute arose after FCSB won the derby against Rapid with a score of 4-1. Following the match, Gigi Becali and Mihai Stoica stated that chants by FCSB fans were not racism but part of club rivalry. Becali specifically stated that the term used for Rapid supporters is merely a nickname. He argued that calling Rapid fans by this term does not constitute racism.

Marius Șumudică, the coach of CFR Cluj, has also spoken out against such behavior. He requested penalties for FCSB due to racist chants by their fans. Șumudică stated he was disturbed by opposing fans chanting an ethnic slur at him during matches. He emphasized that clubs should be penalized for ethnic insults.

Șumudică called for support from match observers, the LPF, and the FRF to eliminate racist chants. He suggested that match observers should stop games for a few minutes during racist incidents. His comments came in the context of his team's recent match, where CFR Cluj drew 2-2 with Dinamo. During that game, Șumudică accused Dinamo fans of becoming irascible and violent due to alcohol consumption.