Gheorghe Popescu, the former captain of Romania's national football team, has confessed that he was an informer for the country's secret police during the communist era.
Popescu's admission comes just three days after he denied the allegations, calling a newspaper report that he had been a Securitate informant "a big lie."
However, he has now admitted he wrote four notes informing on teammates and other colleagues while he was playing at Universitatea Craiova.
The defender was part of a Romanian team that qualified for three consecutive World Cups starting in 1990 and for two European Championships. He also helped Barcelona win the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1997.
When the allegations surfaced on Monday, the 41-year-old Popescu said he had only signed a document in 1985 promising to "defend the national interests" during the regime of the late dictator Nicolae Ceausescu.
However, he has now defended his actions under communism.
"Even if I wrote notes, I wrote good things," he said. "I praised (those) people."
During Ceausescu's rule, the Securitate relied on an army of 700,000 informants in a country of 22 million to keep tabs on the population. The regime's security services kept tabs on Romania's athletes, and some players involved in international competitions were reportedly asked to share details of their conversations with foreigners.
Romania's star football player Gheorghe Hagi, who is related to Popescu through marriage, came to his defence, saying sports had brought glory to Romania in the communist era.
"We (sportsmen) were the ambassadors for Romania. They should look elsewhere" for Securitate agents, he said.
Hagi denied that he himself had been an informant, instead accusing Steaua football club owner Gigi Becali of working for the Securitate.
Becali vigorously denied the accusations. "If It is proved I was an informer, I will hang myself," he said in a televised interview. Becali is a member of the European Parliament for the far right Greater Romania Party.
Daily newspaper Adevarul reported Monday that Popescu had been an informant from 1986 until the regime was toppled three years later.
Popescu's admission comes just three days after he denied the allegations, calling a newspaper report that he had been a Securitate informant "a big lie."
However, he has now admitted he wrote four notes informing on teammates and other colleagues while he was playing at Universitatea Craiova.
The defender was part of a Romanian team that qualified for three consecutive World Cups starting in 1990 and for two European Championships. He also helped Barcelona win the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1997.
When the allegations surfaced on Monday, the 41-year-old Popescu said he had only signed a document in 1985 promising to "defend the national interests" during the regime of the late dictator Nicolae Ceausescu.
However, he has now defended his actions under communism.
"Even if I wrote notes, I wrote good things," he said. "I praised (those) people."
During Ceausescu's rule, the Securitate relied on an army of 700,000 informants in a country of 22 million to keep tabs on the population. The regime's security services kept tabs on Romania's athletes, and some players involved in international competitions were reportedly asked to share details of their conversations with foreigners.
Romania's star football player Gheorghe Hagi, who is related to Popescu through marriage, came to his defence, saying sports had brought glory to Romania in the communist era.
"We (sportsmen) were the ambassadors for Romania. They should look elsewhere" for Securitate agents, he said.
Hagi denied that he himself had been an informant, instead accusing Steaua football club owner Gigi Becali of working for the Securitate.
Becali vigorously denied the accusations. "If It is proved I was an informer, I will hang myself," he said in a televised interview. Becali is a member of the European Parliament for the far right Greater Romania Party.
Daily newspaper Adevarul reported Monday that Popescu had been an informant from 1986 until the regime was toppled three years later.
Labels:
gheorghe popescu,
nicolae ceausescu,
securitate,
steaua bucharest,
tottenham hotspur,
universitatea craiova
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