Violence Halts Bucharest Derby, Rapid Coach Quits

Rapid Bucharest coach Mircea Rednic resigned Thursday after the derby against Steaua Bucharest was abandoned in the 74th minute, when central referee Alexandru Deaconu was hit by an object thrown from the home side fans’ area.

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Deaconu ended the match after he was struck on the head, with Rapid leading 1-0 after a goal scored by defender Cristian Sapunaru.

The home team, Rapid, will be sanctioned with a 0-3 defeat and risks having its stadium suspended for up to ten rounds. Also, the club might be forced to pay a fine of more than RON100,000.

Rapid officials strongly criticized the referee's decision and club vice-president Constantin Zotta said the fans who caused the trouble were Steaua fans in among the home crowd. Rapid officials launched accusations that the move was premeditated to help Steaua win.

Rapid coach Rednic said this was the last match Rapid played with him on the bench.

“What does it matter whether it was a home fan or a Steaua fan? Football has gained nothing from this.”

Steaua is second in the Romanian First League standings with 47 points from 23 matches and Rapid third with 45. Leader CFR Cluj has 56 points from 24 games after beating Farul Constanta 2-1 on Wednesday.

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