Bucharest owner Gigi Becali sharply criticized after ban on vaccinated people
GER ONLY Gigi Becali
© Imago Images
FCSB owner Gigi Becali does not want to let vaccinated players play after they lose their “power”. There was heavy criticism.
Gigi Becali, owner of the Romanian top club FCSB, has received harsh criticism after controversial statements about a ban on vaccinated professionals.
Although Becali later emphasized that it was a joke, he reacted RO Vaccinarethe Romanian government’s official source of information on the coronavirus vaccine, and the FCSB also later released a statement to mollify criticism of its owner’s claims.
“You will laugh, but I could be right. The vaccinated lose their strength. This is something scientific. All vaccinated people lose their strength,” Becali told the Romanian broadcaster this week Per X: “Some of my vaccinated players are not affected, but the older ones are. You have [Ciprian] Didn’t see Deac? There’s no more storm.”
RO Vaccinare reacted a little late in a public posting to Becali’s statements: “Vaccinated footballers do NOT lose their strength after being vaccinated against Covid-19.” The vaccination against Covid-19 has no effect on the performance of the professionals. In contrast, there are enough studies showing that SARS-CoV-2 infection “leaves long-term consequences (Long Covid) that can affect athletes’ performance.”
FCSB reacts: “More than a dozen vaccinated players”
Becali later claimed it was a hoax and responded to journalist Grigore Cartianu’s criticism: “Tell Mr. Cartianu I’m joking. I want to tell you the truth now. [Valentin] Cretu is vaccinated, [Florin] Tanase is vaccinated, [Paulo] Vinicius is vaccinated. three right? Valentin Gheorghe, four… I have nothing to do with them. I’m not interested.”
RO Vaccinare also shared quotes from Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp urging people to get vaccinated. It also said: “Please ONLY obtain information from credible, official sources!”
Opposite the press agency Reuters The FCSB later explained that it was not true that vaccinated players would not play and that there were “more than a dozen vaccinated players” in the Romanian second-placed squad.