Last week, we reported on an ethnic Hungarian gymnast being abused at the training camp of the Romanian National Team. Z. K., as the 15-year-old boy is being referred to in the Romanian press, was stripped naked, shaven bald, and then tied to a radiator by three (news originally were of two) of his Romanian teammates, who continued to abuse and humiliate him while others chanted ‘ungure, ungure’ (Hungarian, Hungarian) in the room, according to press reports.
Evidently, a heinous act like this has stirred quite a bit of outrage. Now, we have an update on the situation.
Three Romanian gymnasts have been kicked out of the National Team and they cannot compete in the European Championship in Rimini, Italy later this month.
Those three boys have been named as well: Mihai Iustin, Andrei Titi, and Flavius Borca. Presumably, they were the primary culprits in the abuse of their Hungarian teammates. Previously, given that they too are still minors, the alleged perpetrators were also referred to by their initials in the press, just like the victim. However, of the initials previously reported, only one matches up with the now-revealed names: F. B. for Flavius Borca. Only one other initial was used to describe another attacker, D. P., which matches none of the three names of the expelled athletes.
The Romanian Gymnastics Federation released a statement announcing the expulsions from the Men’s National Team. The disciplined athletes also received a written warning from the Federation, which has been shared with the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee (COSR) and the National Sports Agency (ANS) as well.
And, punishment will most likely not stop there for the three culprits.
The Resicabánya (Rešica) police are also reportedly investigating the incident. As we wrote in our last article, criminal law experts talking to the Romanian sports daily ProSport shared the opinion that serious crimes may have been committed at the training camp, such as unlawful restraint, battery, sexual battery, and, of course, ethnic discrimination.
In addition, the Anti-Discrimination Council in the capital city of Bucharest is launching an investigation of its own into the matter, as revealed by Csaba Asztalos, the president of the council. Meanwhile, the victim of the horrendous attack has been offered a full scholarship to relocate and continue his sports career in Hungary by Kolozsvár (Cluj)-native businessman Elek Nagy living in Budapest.
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