Costin Curelea responds to FRF salary penalty over dinner controversy

Costin Curelea has responded to the financial penalty imposed by the Romanian Football Federation following a dinner involving members of the Romania U21 staff and Nicu Gheară. Golazo reports that the deduction applied to his final salary from the U21 role.

Curelea maintained that he had done nothing extraordinary. Fanatik reported that he regarded the meal as taking place in his free time and said it had not affected the national team’s activities or programme.

The penalty was a deduction of 25% from salary. Fanatik described the deduction as applying for one remaining month in the cases of Curelea and assistant Ionuț Stancu, while the penalties for Marius Niculae and Iulian Oțelea extended until the end of the year. These periods describe the salary penalties, rather than a suspension from coaching.

The controversy concerned a dinner attended by Curelea, Stancu, Niculae and Oțelea alongside Gheară. The federation investigated the episode and imposed sanctions, according to the cited reporting.

In his comments on the team’s results, Curelea also pointed to changes in the squad. He said there had been eight absences and 12 new players, presenting the turnover as part of his explanation for the difficulties during the qualification campaign.

Correction: an earlier version of this report described the one-month salary penalty as a suspension. The cited reporting concerns a salary deduction.