Romanian billionaire says he would punch PM Orbán in the head – VIDEO
“If Orbán dares to do something, I will hit him in the head” – Gigi Becali, a Romanian billionaire, said at a press conference this week. Mr Becali is the owner of the FC Steaua București, the Romanian capital’s emblematic football team. Steaua won the UEFA Champions League in 1986. It was the first Eastern European team to do so. At the press conference, he slammed PM Viktor Orbán and the Sepsi OSK, a football team based in Szeklerland’s “capital” Sepsiszentgyörgy. The team’s players are mostly Hungarians.
Controversial property exchange business
According to mandiner.hu, the Romanian billionaire was quoted to say that they held Sepsi “under the guillotine. If I see that the Sepsi OSK is getting stronger, I invest ten million euros” – Becali added. The Romanian businessman acquired his first millions of dollars from a controversial real estate exchange with the Romanian Army in the 1990s.
The deal consisted of Becali giving the army a 21.5-hectare plot in Ștefăneștii de Jos (about 15 km from Bucharest) in exchange for a 20.9-hectare plot in Băneasa-Pipera, in Northern Bucharest. As the real estate prices skyrocketed in the capital, he sold the land to some companies that built residential areas – Wikipedia writes. With his money, he acquired 51% of the shares of FC Steaua București in 2003.
Sepsi OSK: a Hungarian team?
According to Főtér.ro, the former shepherd and MEP invited the press to his palace to announce the Steaua’s new coach, Nicolae Dică. Furthermore, he slammed the Sepsi OSK, which he thinks is supported by the Hungarian government. By the way, PM Viktor Orbán watched the team’s match with NK Olimpija Ljubljana last week before his speech in Tusványos. The duel’s stake was to advance into the UEFA Europa Conference League, and the Sepsi OSK won 3-1.
The Sepsi OSK is regarded as Hungarian since most of its players are Hungarians. Moreover, its base is in Sepsiszentgyörgy, a city in Central Romania populated 77% by Hungarians. The team won the Romanian Cup and the Supercup this year.
“If Orbán dares to do anything, I will hit him in the head. Paff, down with Sepsi!”
Becali slammed Orbán and the football team hard at the press conference:
- If the Sepsi OSK advances to Liga 1, he will invest 10 million euros to stop further successes.
- “I do not let the Hungarians go to the FCSB [Steaua Bucharest]. They will never play in a Romanian team.”
- “If Orbán dares to do anything, I will hit him in the head. Paff, down with Sepsi!”
- “We hold Sepsi under the guillotine. If I see that the Sepsi OSK gets stronger, I will invest 10 million euros.“
- “We will destroy everything in connection with the Sepsi OSK. I will only invest money in football if Sepsi ascends. I will not let [them] win the Romanian championships.“
- “We have to keep Orbán at the end of the line. I will only go to the tribune if the Sepsi OSK gets stronger with Orbán. I guarantee that the Sepsi OSK will not raise its head. If the Sepsi or the Csíkszereda [another Hungarian city and its football team in Central Romania] raised their heads, I would invest a lot of money.”
If you understand Romanian, you can listen to Becali’s press conference below:
Source: Főtér.ro, mandiner.hu, Wikipedia