Protest puts Prunea in spotlight

By Paul-Daniel Zaharia

A trade union protest march, alleged threats to a senior football official and a subsequent fight against a long ban and heavy fine. The last month has certainly not been dull for Florin Prunea, the former Romania goalkeeper who has been at the centre of a storm in his home country.

Making waves
Prunea, who plays for Divizia A side FCM Bacau, made 40 appearances for Romania in an international career which spanned the 1994 and 1998 FIFA World Cups, as well as EURO 96 and EURO 2000™. Yet it is in his role as vice-president of the Amateur and Non-amateur Players' Union (AFAN) that he is making waves now.

Protest march in December
On 9 January the disciplinary commission of the Romanian Professional League (LPF) suspended the 34-year-old Prunea for nine months and fined him €530 for allegedly threatening the league's president, Dumitru Dragomir, in the course of a protest march by players outside the LPF's headquarters in December.

Final warning
Yesterday he finally received the go-ahead to return to action when the executive committee of the Romanian Football Federation (FRF) intervened, confirming he would serve no suspension but would pay a €430 fine, as well as receiving a final warning over his conduct.

Unpaid wages
The trouble began just before Christmas when Prunea led around 100 players in a march to the LPF's base in Bucharest to protest against clubs' non-payment of wages. In a number of interviews he was less than complimentary about the league body's president, Dragomir, provoking a forthright response from the LPF.

'Banned for protest'
Prunea maintained that he was "banned because of the players' protest and not for what I said" and received the support of the Romanian National Union Block, which declared: "This verdict is against all national and international laws, as well as fundamental human rights."

'Incitement to crime'
However, the LPF's disciplinary commission president Alexandru Boc insisted: "Prunea wasn't judged as the AFAN vice-president, but only as a player. He may be sued in civil courts by LPF officials, because during the protest he shouted that the LPF officials were 'thieves and mafiosi'." Dragomir himself accused Prunea of "incitement to crime", claiming there were shouts of "We're going to bury Dragomir".

Huge fine
With feelings running high, Prunea launched an appeal against the LPF's punishment. On 23 January its appeals commission reduced his suspension to six months. Four days later the suspension was annulled but the player's fine increased from €430 to €4,600 - a huge sum in Romania where this can represent a player's income for a whole year.

Federation takes action
The subsequent intervention of the FRF, however, resolved the matter once and for all. FRF president Mircea Sandu said: "We ignored the decision taken yesterday by the LPF council, because several of its members are also members of the commission which suspended Prunea. This means that the decision of the LPF council is not legal."

Sandu comments
Sandu added that "Prunea is not completely free of blame", explaining he should pay a fine as it was "not acceptable to attack officials, albeit only verbally". Prunea, who will remain as AFAN's vice-president, may have to pay a fine but the case has certainly helped attract attention to his cause. He has the backing of the country's footballers and the unions, and players have begun to receive some of the money they are owed.

Struggle goes on
That said, all 16 top-flight clubs remain in arrears with payments and there are no easy solutions. This particular episode may have concluded, but for players and clubs alike in Romania, the struggle goes on.