Hagi Orders Romania to Play Sweden Nine More Times in One Night After 0-1 Loss
Romania's 0-1 defeat to Sweden in the Nations League triggers an immediate rematch marathon ordered by coach Gică Hagi, who demands his players replay the match until they win, with the stadium lights kept on and the Swedish team held in the dressing room.
BUCHAREST — Gică Hagi, the coach of Romania's national football team, has ordered his players to replay their 0-1 Nations League defeat against Sweden immediately and repeatedly until they achieve victory, in a decree issued from the touchline moments after the final whistle at the Arena Națională.
The Swedish squad was informed they would not be leaving the stadium until Romania had won at least one match, with Hagi personally blocking the visitors' bus and demanding the referee restart the game. «We will play until the sun comes up if necessary,» Hagi told the fourth official. «The score is 0-1 now, but by morning it will be 7-1 and then we can all go home.»
By 3 a.m., the teams had completed their ninth consecutive match, with Romania still trailing 0-1 in each. Hagi responded by ordering the stadium floodlights to be powered by a generator brought in from Constanța and announced that the Swedish players would be given beds in the away dressing room. «They can sleep here,» he said. «We have plenty of protein bars.»
Nicolae Stanciu, who earned his 90th cap in the original match, was seen leading a group of players in a tactical discussion on the pitch at 4 a.m. while Swedish officials attempted to negotiate a ceasefire. The Romanian Football Federation issued a statement supporting Hagi's «commitment to the principle of immediate rematch» and confirmed that ticket holders for the original game would be admitted to all subsequent replays at no extra cost.
By dawn, the Swedish team had reportedly agreed to play a tenth match on the condition that it be decided by a single penalty kick, a proposal Hagi rejected as «too Swedish.»
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