Romanian soccer leader urges fans to keep country pro-European ahead of state presidential election

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Three days before a state presidential election runoff between a far-right populist and a reformist opponent, Romania’s soccer federation leader urged fans to keep the country on a pro-European path.

“Through European values, we are building not only a stronger nation, but also sport that will be a source of pride for everyone,” Razvan Burleanu, a member of FIFA’s ruling council, said Thursday in a video message posted by the national soccer body.

On Sunday, the state presidency will be won by either Calin Georgescu or pro-European Elena Lasconi of the Save Romania Union party.

Georgescu’s critics say he is a pro-Russia admirer of Vladimir Putin, and Romanian intelligence has released intelligence alleging Moscow ran an online promotion campaign on platforms like TikTok and Telegram helping him to top the polls in the first-round vote.

Russian teams were banned from European soccer after the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, and Burleanu joined political allies at UEFA last year to resist the leadership’s proposal to let under-17 national teams return to its competitions.

The soccer official told fans Thursday that Romania gained security and freedoms by joining NATO and the European Union since 1989, when the pro-Moscow communist regime was overthrown.

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