Football referees Savaniu and Corpodean set free by the court in Pitesti
The court in Pitesti approved today appeals against the rejection of discharge request under judicial control of football referees Marcel Savaniu and Sorin Corpodean, so the two will be released. The decision is indefeasible and cannot be appealed.
Savaniu and Corpodean are not allowed to participate at sport events or to get close to the other defendants or their families. They have to stay away from the experts and witnesses and to not umpire any matches.
The two referees were arrested for taking bribery amid a full-blown corruption scandal also involving the chief of FC Arges football club Cornel Penescu, football umpire Aurelian Bogaciu, the self-suspended vice president of Referees' Central Commission Marcel Lica and the former head of football referees in Romania, Gheorghe Constantin.
Penescu was arrested being accused of giving a bribery of 54,000 euros and 290,000 lei to Bogaciu, Savaniu and Lajos for the matches Gloria Bistrita-FC Arges (played on October 31 last year, score 2-0), FC Brasov-FC Arges (played on March 15, score 1-0) and FC Arges-Universitatea Craiova (played on October 3 last year, score 1-1) and for promoting a referee from the second football division into the first one.
Constantin is accused of taking bribery and received a preventive arrest warrant for 29 days from the court in Arges county on April 14.
The mayor of Pitesti, Tudor Pendiuc, was heard for two hours by the prosecutors of the local Anticorruption Department (DNA) as a witness today. He said prosecutors did not mention if he is going to be called back.