Youths Assaulted in Cluj-Napoca Allegedly for Speaking Hungarian

Hungarian youths were beaten up in Cluj-Napoca on Monday night after a football match between CFR and Universitatea in the Romanian league play-off, Hirado.hu reported. Hunor Kelemen, president of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (RMDSZ), called the incident intolerable and refused to accept the argument that these were isolated incidents.

The politician called the assault unacceptable, adding that the youths for beaten up just for speaking Hungarian. “I appeal to the Minister of the Interior to set an example! Punish the ultras who assaulted Hungarian youths,” Hunor Kelemen wrote on his Facebook page.

In his post, he explained that the incident happened after the last football match between CFR and Universitatea, when Hungarian youths were assaulted by the home (Universitatea) team’s ultras in Cluj Napoca. He stressed that several Hungarians, who were walking home peacefully, suffered serious bodily injuries.

“I refuse to accept the argument that these are isolated incidents. No!

As long as Hungarians are being abused just because they are Hungarians, because they speak Hungarian, our community is not completely safe.

This is where extremist, anti-Hungarian parties are free to incite, while the state often turns a blind eye to them,” emphasized the RMDSZ president. He added that, in his opinion, all hate speech should be punished, no matter who says it – be it a politician or a media personality.

Maszol.ro reported that

15-20 masked ultras attacked children aged 14-17 on the street as they were walking home from the stadium. One of them was hit on the head with a stick and taken to hospital by ambulance. A young League 3 footballer was hit with a bottle.

His uncle said to Fanatik that they were not wearing CFR scarves, nor were the attackers provoked, they simply heard the youngsters speaking Hungarian. Although the victims ran away, the ultras attacked them again. The young man had his nose broken and his face needed stitches. His uncle thinks it was a premeditated action by the ultras and they will report it to the police.

Botond Csoma, the RMDSZ representative in Cluj county, said that ethnic hatred could have motivated the attack on the young man who was hospitalized with a broken nose. On his social media page, he also called on the authorities to punish the perpetrators.

On the other hand, I have the feeling that the authorities often turn a blind eye to the violent actions of some “U” ultras, simply because they are fans of Universitatea. Such things are unacceptable in Cluj-Napoca,”

he emphasized.

Hungarian youth organizations in the city are organizing a peaceful demonstration on Thursday in response to the incident. The aim is to draw attention to the unacceptability of such acts of violence and unjustified hatred, and to show solidarity with the young people and their families.

The Hungarian youths were not the only victims of the U-Ultras on Monday evening. The news portal Stiri de Cluj reported that a 14-year-old boy was also abused by U-Ultras who attacked him and two friends aged between 14 and 17 late Monday evening near the Elisabeth Bridge. The ethnic origin of the minors was not mentioned in the article.

The national chairmanship of the Hungarian Alliance of Transylvania also took a stand, emphasizing that it firmly rejects any form of anti-Hungarian violence and demands exemplary punishment for the perpetrators. The party emphasized that one should not wait until the anti-Hungarian attacks, which occur from time to time, have even more serious consequences. In a Facebook post, they pointed out that

the decision-makers in Bucharest are also responsible for spreading hate speech and stirring up anti-Hungarian sentiments.

The Universitatea Cluj football club expressed its regret on Wednesday about the “incidents” following Monday’s match. The club is committed to the principles of fair play and the university spirit, rejects any aggression, and trusts that the authorities will investigate the incidents.

The football club CFR Cluj condemned the incident and stressed that it was unacceptable for fans of a team to be transported away in an ambulance after the match. In the club’s view, the aggressive mood in the Transylvanian city has been exacerbated by the behavior of the U-Ultras and cannot be tolerated. They called on the rival football club to distance itself from the unacceptable behavior of its supporters.

The rivalry between CFR Cluj, founded in 1907 as Kolozsvári Vasutas Sport Klub (Cluj Railwaymen’s Sports Club), and the university team Universitatea Cluj, founded in 1919, dates back several decades. Among CFR supporters are numerous Hungarians, who are often targeted by the U-Ultras.

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Via Hirado.hu, Maszol.ro, Fanatik, Stiri de Cluj, Featured photo via Wikipedia