Romanians Want to Help Mutu

Officials in the Romanian Soccer Federation were deeply concerned yesterday, though most officials there preferred to not comment on the sacking of Mutu from Chelsea. One of the second-in-command coaches of the national team, Ilie Stan, said the turn of events disappointed him. "It’s a pity that the Romanian soccer lost one exceptional player. We all thought he will get a minimum punishment period and get back into the football circuit," said the former midfielder of the Steaua team, in the ‘90s.

Cristian Bivolaru, the deputy secretary general of the Romanian Soccer Federation, had few words to share with the media.
"I cannot comment on the decision made by Chelsea as this is their problem. We are waiting for the decision of the English Soccer Federation to emerge," he said. One of the people close to Mircea Sandu said one version credited by the Romanian officials was to assume that if Chelsea chose to get rid of Mutu it had information that he would get the maximum two-year penalty from the British Federation.

Where Could Mutu Go?

There are few options still open for Mutu to continue a viable career after he will complete his punishment period from the English Soccer Federation.
The only good part of all these is that Mutu is now free of contract and may start working anywhere, with the club taking him not having to pay extra fees. These are a few of the likely destinations Mutu could take after he will be free to fight again:

Dinamo Bucharest - Both Cristian Borcea, the executive director, and Gigi Netoiu, the second in command, have excellent relations with Mutu. According to Borcea, the soccer club would like to take advantage of any financial deal that might allow Mutu to play for it.

Galatasaray, Istanbul - Romanian coach Gica Hagi would also want Mutu to play for the club he is now coaching. Hagi is also the wedding godfather of the striker and one of the people Mutu respects most. Also, the influence of Hagi and Gica Popescu, Mutu’s agent, on Galatasaray officials is not at all negligible.

Sahtior, Donetsk - Though he did not want to explicitly state this, Mircea Lucescu, the Romanian coach of Sahtior, would also like to save Mutu’s career, as he did this with other soccer players too. Still, this is not a decision very much liked by Rinat Ahmetov, the owner of the club. The Ukrainian billionaire is of Muslim faith and dislikes such vices; hence it is most likely he will object to having Mutu in his club.

Italy - may also be a likely destination for Mutu, as he still has a good image there, with Juventus previously stating its interest in having him on the team.

Criticism in Britain against Sacking Mutu

Gordon Taylor, the head of the Professional Football Association in England, said Chelsea set a trap to get Mutu with the drug testing.
"They tested him in order to get rid of him, while they could have enlisted him in a rehabilitation program. I hoped for the club to show interest in the moral and social standing of its employees," Taylor said.
He explained that many soccer clubs in similar circumstances chose to rehabilitate their players and help them get back into the limelight and high performance standards.

Most of the British media criticized the decision Chelsea took to sack Mutu before the decision of the English Federation was taken.
"Mark Bosnich was in a similar situation. He was sacked because he denied taking drugs. But this is where Mutu’s situation is different, as he admitted to taking drugs and said he was ready to go into rehab," Daniel Emery of BBC London told us, commenting that Chelsea used the occasion to sack Mutu because he did not perform as expected.