Former Romanian football star, paroled after serving one year and eight months of a three-year sentence

Ilfov Court decided on Wednesday, November 4, that former Romanian football star Gheorghe Popescu should be paroled after serving one year and eight months of a sentence of three years and a month. The court’s decision is final. In early-October, Bucharest’s District 4 Court decided that Popescu met the conditions to be paroled, as he had had a good behavior and had carried out several activities. The court’s motivation showed that he had written four books in prison, reports local Mediafax. Gheorghe Popescu has been serving the prison sentence since March last year, after being involved in illegal football player transfers by which several local football clubs and their owners avoided paying taxes to the state. Other businessmen and footballers were convicted in the same case, namely the former owner of FC Rapid football club George Copos, the general manager of the FC Steaua football club Mihai Stoica, the former owner of FC Dinamo football club Cristian Borcea, former player agent Ioan Becali and his brother Victor Becali, former shareholder in Dinamo club Gheorghe Netoiu, and the former president of the club Gloria Bistrita Jean Padureanu. Gheorghe Copos was paroled this April, after serving one-third of his sentence, as he also wrote several books while in jail. Jean Padureanu was also released on parole in June, on age. Ioan Becali might also be paroled. Medgidia Court ruled in late-October that he could be released on parole, but the decision was not final. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com