April 24 – The international players’ union FIFpro has warned its members against signing for Romanian clubs because of the risk they will not get paid.
FIFPro’s Global Employment Report, released in November, showed that 75% of players in Romania had to deal with late payment in the previous two seasons. “The situation is getting even worse,” said Emilian Hulubei, the president of Romanian player union, AFAN.
In 2015, the union had 257 cases at arbitration and appeals committees. That number grew to 287 in 2016. “It is very frustrating,” Hulubei said. “We are spending all our time on wage complaints of players. We don’t have time to work on other programmes such as education or health.”
In the Romanian top league (Liga 1) four clubs are insolvent. In the second division, four clubs have disappeared due to bankruptcy during the season. Three others are in insolvency.
When a club goes bankrupt, it is practically impossible for a player to get his money, says Hulubei.
“There are clubs who can never pay the salary that they offered a player,” Hulubei said. “They will pay the first salary or the signing fee, but nothing more. They simply use the player. When the transfer window opens, they get rid of him.”
FIFPro strongly advises all players to contact the Romanian union before joining any club. “We know which club can actually pay the salary it is offering,” Hulubei said.
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