FC Steaua București

FC Steaua București, often known in English as Steaua Bucharest,[1][2] is a Romanian professional football club. Amongst its successes are 20 domestic league titles, winning the Romanian Cup 20 times, defeating FC Barcelona in the final to take the 1985–86 European Cup and winning the 1986 UEFA Super Cup against Dynamo Kyiv.

Main article: History of FC Steaua București

History

The team was founded in 1947 as the football arm of the army's sports club Steaua București, owned by the Ministry of National Defence. In 1998, with mounting pressure by the then Minister of National Defence, Victor Babiuc, as well as the media and Romania's governing football bodies, LPF and FRF, regarding an alleged directive from UEFA which claimed to ban any state owned teams from its international competitions, Steaua București closed its football arm.[3][4] A new non-profit organization (AFC Steaua București) was created in a post-Ceaușescu privatization scheme which was handed over the right to use the Steaua brand name and the Steaua Stadium, while FC Steaua București retained ownership of both and the tutelage over the new entity. Alongside the name and the stadium, the new club claimed Steaua's place in the Romanian first division, while the entire football staff and roster were also transferred, at no cost, to the new organization.[5] In 2000, on the upswing of eliminating state owned teams from ever participating in the first football tier, an article was added to the National Sports Law to help this matter. It was only two decades later when journalists finally decided to question the alleged UEFA directive and it became clear that it was all a case of fake news.[6][7]

By 2003, a new controversial figure, Gigi Becali, had started making headlines for the past few years as the main financier of AFC Steaua București, the year in which he merged the non-profit organization into a newly formed corporation, Fotbal Club Steaua București SA. The transfer took place midway through the 2002–03 first tier championship.[8][9][10][11]

In 2011, although Becali's team was still playing on its Steaua Stadium, CSA Steaua București sued it for registering a separate Steaua brand name without its approval back in 2004 and that AFC Steaua București did not have the right to pass on the brand name nor the legacy of the original football club.[12] By the end of 2014, Romania's Supreme Court ruled against Becali, and by 2017 he had to change its name to Fotbal Club FCSB SA.[13][14][15]

After the 2017 ruling that forced Becali's club to rename itself FC FCSB, CSA Steaua București reestablished its football section and entered it in the fourth tier of the national championship.[16] It currently plays in the second tier from where it cannot promote due to the National Sports Law passed in 2000.[17]

UEFA and the Romanian Football governing bodies have stated that they view FCSB as the owner of the original club's legacy, but a trial started in 2017 to decide which entity can claim the historic legacy and all club honours is awaiting a final ruling in 2023.[18][19]

References
  1. Rosu, Emanuel (20 January 2022). "The battle for Steaua Bucharest - an Eastern European giant at war with itself". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 13 February 2023. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  2. Latham-Coyle, Harry (23 February 2022). "Steaua Bucharest owner bans vaccinated players from playing for club". The Independent. Archived from the original on 13 February 2023. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  3. Victor, Vrînceanu (2022-10-18). "INCREDIBIL! CSA sfidează instanța și refuză să pună la dispoziție actele care arată cine este adevărata Steaua! Ce scrisoare halucinantă au trimis oficialii Armatei | DOCUMENT EXCLUSIV". Prosport (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 2023-02-26. Retrieved 2023-02-20.
  4. "Ce club a preluat Gigi Becali? O legendă a Stelei a povestit cum a fost martor la desprinderea secţiei de fotbal de CSA: "Adevărul trebuie spus odată"". Orangesport (in Romanian). 29 April 2022. Archived from the original on 2023-02-26. Retrieved 2023-02-20.
  5. "EXCLUSIV Iată protocolul prin care Păunescu a primit toata baza din Ghencea! GSP publică documentul prin care MApN i-a oferit întregul Complex Sportiv Steaua, cu titlu gratuit, pe o perioadă de 20 de ani!". GSP (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 2023-02-26. Retrieved 2023-02-20.
  6. Prosport.ro (2017-04-04). "EXCLUSIV | UEFA răspunde solicitării ProSport: "Nu există restricții de niciun fel pentru cluburile deținute de stat". De ce NU poate totuși CSA Steaua să joace în Liga 1". Prosport (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 2023-02-26. Retrieved 2023-02-22.
  7. "Poziţia oficială UEFA în legătură cu CSA Steaua Bucureşti: "Nicio regulă nu interzice cluburile deţinute de stat"". Orangesport (in Romanian). 3 January 2022. Archived from the original on 2023-02-26. Retrieved 2023-02-22.
  8. "Dezvăluiri șocante despre cum a ajuns Steaua pe mâinile lui Viorel Păunescu și Gigi Becali! "Au pus la cale preluarea frauduloasă"". Realitatea Sportiva. 2020-05-03. Archived from the original on 2023-02-26. Retrieved 2023-02-26.
  9. "Gigi Becali susţine că deţine palmaresul echipei Steaua". Mediafax.ro (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 2023-02-26. Retrieved 2023-02-26.
  10. "Cum a fost preluată Steaua de Gigi Becali. Detaliul scos la iveală. "Cel mai mare abuz din fotbalul românesc"". www.digisport.ro (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 2023-02-26. Retrieved 2023-02-26.
  11. "Comandantul CSA Steaua din 2003 spune ca Becali a preluat legal echipa: Cu totii am votat. A mostenit si palmaresul". Ziare.com (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 2023-02-26. Retrieved 2023-02-26.
  12. "CSA Steaua: FCSB dezinformează, nu a avut niciodată palmaresul şi istoria Stelei". Mediafax.ro (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 2023-02-26. Retrieved 2023-02-26.
  13. Rosu, Emanuel (2014-12-27). "Where the team has no name: the fight over Steaua Bucharest's identity | Emanuel Rosu". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2019-04-06. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
  14. "Belodedici intervine in scandalul FCSB – CSA! "Generalii au fugit cu buzunarele pline si i-au dat echipa lui Becali" Ce spune de proiectul CSA Steaua!". Sport.ro (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 2023-01-13. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
  15. "FC Steaua și-a schimbat numele în Fotbal Club FCSB SA". Stiri.tvr.ro (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 2023-02-26. Retrieved 2023-02-26.
  16. AGERPRES. "Fotbal:CSA Steaua susţine în continuare proiectul de înfiinţare a unei echipe de seniori, sub." www.agerpres.ro (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 2023-02-26. Retrieved 2023-02-26.
  17. "Steaua Armatei a primit OK-ul de la UEFA, dar tot nu poate juca în Liga 1. Anunțul făcut azi". www.digisport.ro (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 2023-02-26. Retrieved 2023-02-26.
  18. "Lovitură catastrofală pentru FCSB! CSA Steaua a câștigat procesul pentru palmares". ProSport.ro (in Romanian). 28 June 2021. Archived from the original on 28 October 2021. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  19. "Un nou episod al conflictului juridic pentru palmaresul Stelei: a durat șase minute! Florin Talpan, nervos". www.digisport.ro (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 2023-02-26. Retrieved 2023-02-26.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.