“FK Csíkszereda (Transylvanian football club in Romania – editor’s note) condemns the practices exhibited by certain representatives of the Romanian sports press in recent days. We find it unacceptable that part of the media chooses to promote xenophobia and hatred instead of providing objective, fact-based information in order to generate clicks and hysteria,” the Miercurea Ciuc (Csíkszereda) club stated in its statement on Wednesday.
The officials of FK Csíkszereda repeatedly emphasized that the Szekler and Hungarian flags are not prohibited symbols, but “natural expressions of the cultural heritage and identity of the Szekler community.”
Fact
As Hungary Today reported earlier, club president Zoltán Szondy announced on October 20 that the gendarmerie had fined the club, which was promoted to the Romania’s first division this year, 30,000 lei (around 6.000 euro) for allowing fans to bring Szekler and Hungarian flags into the stadium.
They also emphasized that this fact has been confirmed by several international forums, including the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), which stated that the use of these symbols is part of cultural identity and freedom of expression.
The fine imposed by the gendarmerie after the match against Universitatea Cluj was a clear abuse of power, which we believe the court will also find. It is important to note that since then, the gendarmerie has not imposed any further sanctions for the use of the same symbols,”
the club revealed.
“The claim that the use of the term ‘Székelyföld’ (Szeklerland) is prohibited by the Romanian Football Federation is also false and misleading. Székelyföld is a historical and cultural region whose existence is a historical reality, even if it does not bear this name in Romania’s current administrative system,” said club representatives.
They also announced:
“For all these reasons, in the future we will not provide accreditation to media outlets that engage in anti-Hungarian sentiment and incitement instead of sports reporting.
The president of FK Csíkszereda is urging the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (RMDSZ), which is part of the Bucharest government, to take action after the Romanian Football Federation (FRF) and the Romanian gendarmerie condemned the club for using Szekler and Hungarian flags.
“This is not FK Csíkszereda’s fight. We did not form a football club to display Hungarian or Szekler flags, but neither did we form it to ban them. Because if we are punished, the logical step would be to issue an order: we will not allow these flags. Therefore, I solemnly ask our elected representatives and politicians: are Hungarian and Szekler flags banned in Romania?” said Zoltán Szondy.
He believes that if the club tolerates the punishment of the community, it will set a precedent, so he asked the RMDSZ to take action on this issue as the ruling party. At the same time, he indicated that the club will not ban these symbols from the stands.
In his response, Deputy Prime Minister Barna Tánczos stated: “The Szekler flag is not banned in Romania, and never will be.”
The RMDSZ politician from Szeklerland also indicated that he had already discussed the issue with Interior Minister Cătălin Predoiu.
Related article
Romanian Football Federation Warns FK Csíkszereda over Use of Szekler Symbols
The club president personally attended the disciplinary committee meeting, which he described as a surreal and anti-Hungarian experience.Continue reading
Via Kronika, Featured photo: Wikimedia Commons
The post Transylvanian Football Club Condemns Anti-Hungarian Bias in Romanian Media appeared first on Hungary Today.
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