Daniel Pancu, the selector of the national youth team, eliminated by the referee in the match Romania U21 – Switzerland U21 after entering the field in protest, explained his reaction, saying that at first he thought that Louis Munteanu had died from the blow he received it from the opponent.
Daniel Pancu feared for the life of his player, Louis Munteanu. Archive photo
After the match won by the small tricolors with a score of 3-1, at the press conference Daniel Pancu explained his nervous outburst that led to his being sent to the stands, saying that he heard from the uncle where he was that the Romanian player Louis Munteanu received a kick in the neck with the sole of his foot and it was feared that he had died, according to Agerpres.
“At first, believe me, I thought Louis was dead… God forbid! From the angle I was standing, I saw that he received a spiked sole directly in the neck. And I thought he was gone… then I saw that he was moving and that the referee was showing the yellow card. In that second I thought about the player, but also about an episode from the tour match in Switzerland, when I got the 2-2 goal after a 3-meter offside and foul. Because we were qualified for a long time (no – with that victory). If Romania is written on us, this does not mean that we should not be respected at the level of our opponents. I apologize, my gesture was unqualified. It’s the first elimination in my life… I lost my temper because I was looking at the player and I didn’t think he could continue. I don’t know how it was seen on TV, but from there it was seen very badly”, explained the national youth coach.
In the 28th minute, the Swiss Luca Jaquez made a brutal tackle on Louis Munteanu in the center of the field, and the referee seemed to give him only a yellow card. Group protests by the tricolors followed, Pancu entered and protested vehemently on the field and was eliminated, as was the Blănuţă reserve. In the end, the Swiss also received a red card.
“I’m sorry, I sure do, now I do. But maybe if there was a yellow card, maybe now we were no longer talking from the position of qualified coach at the EURO. It mattered, the decision was reversed. I saw well that he initially gave him a yellow, right? You can’t just give yellow to an entry like that. I have never seen yellow in the history of football for such an entry. Not even 30 years ago, not only according to today’s rules”, Daniel Pancu also said.
There is a risk that at the final tournament of the U21 European Championship in 2025 the technician will only sit in the stands, as a result of the suspension he will receive. “Sumudica was telling me in the regulation stand (no – during the match with Switzerland), because he was still suspended and he knows, I was the first. At the EURO I risk sitting in the official stand… I risk being suspended and not sitting on the bench for any EURO match”, he specified.
Romania’s youth team qualified for the European Under-21 Football Championship, which will take place between June 12 and 29, 2025, after defeating the similar Swiss team with a score of 3-1 (2-0) on Tuesday evening, on Giuleşti Arena in Capital, in the last match of Group E of the preliminaries.
