61 Facts About Gigi Becali

In 2024, Gigi Becali was elected a member of the Chamber of Deputies for the AUR party, but left in March 2025 due to chairman George Simion's decision of collected signatures for a female presidential candidate.

Gigi Becali was born in Vadeni, Braila County, to an Aromanian family which had been deported to the Baragan Plain by the Communist authorities because of their associations with the pre-World War II fascist party Iron Guard.

Gigi Becali has become a millionaire through an exchange of land with the Romanian Army, dubbed by the Romanian press as suspicious, as the Army did not need the land it received and the land he received in exchange was worth much more.

The deal consisted of Gigi Becali giving the Army a 21.5-hectare plot in Stefanestii de Jos in exchange for a 20.9-hectare plot in Baneasa-Pipera, in Northern Bucharest.

In 2007, it was revealed that in 1998, when Gigi Becali sent the offer to the Romanian Army, he was not the owner of the property in Stefanestii de Jos, buying it only after it was clear that the deal would be signed.

Gigi Becali joined the General Shareholders' Council of the Steaua Bucuresti football team at the end of the 1990s, during the presidency of businessman Viorel Paunescu.

However, Gigi Becali sued the ANAF and won the trial, and subsequently the order of seizure was lifted.

Gigi Becali was however able to avoid paying the taxes by transferring the assets of Steaua to a newly formed company, AFC Steaua Bucuresti, allowing the old association to go bankrupt.

Gigi Becali denied the story, claiming that he received the painting from an admirer.

Gigi Becali was often criticised for interfering with his managers' work, frequently calling for subs at half time or deciding on the starting XI.

Gigi Becali admitted this as much, stating that the players are brought with his money, so it is his right to decide who plays and how.

Since he was released from prison in 2015, Gigi Becali shifted towards appointing puppet managers, without experience, oftentimes close acquaintances or former FCSB icons such as Nicolae Dica, Mirel Radoi, Vergil Andronache, Dinu Todoran and Anton Petrea, oftentimes his main criteria being their religiousness or willingness to be "bossed around" by Gigi Becali.

One encounter, told by Gigi Becali himself, was when Dinu Todoran was considered as manager for the second team.

When Gigi Becali called him to inform him of the possibility of taking this job, Todoran replied to call him later, stating he is in church.

Gigi Becali was deeply impressed by the piousness of Todoran that he immediately appointed him manager for the first team.

Todoran himself admitted that Gigi Becali was managing the team for him, stating that it was no secret who decides the starting XI and the subs, which can be reflected by the fact that he was receiving the lowest salary of any manager in the Romanian League.

Gigi Becali remained silent for a few months, however he started to voice his displeasure at the quality of the game, stating that his team must always have the possession, and that a result based approach is not what interests him.

Tensions arose at the club, and ultimately Edi and Gigi Becali parted ways on 14 November 2021, after winning eight games, drawing two and losing two and taking the team to second place.

Gigi Becali announced his intention to return to the team, appointing Pintili as caretaker since he does not have a coaching badge.

In reply to this decision, Gigi Becali named Mugur Isarescu, the governor of the National Bank, "a buffoon, a frustrated and envious person" and announced that he intends to sue him.

At the 2000 Romanian legislative election, Gigi Becali was a candidate of the "League of Italian Communities in Romania" for the seat in the Chamber of Deputies reserved for the Italian minority.

Gigi Becali received 16,266 votes countrywide, of which 7,677 in Ilfov County.

Gigi Becali contested the results, but according to Romanian election law, for national minorities, it is not the total number of votes that matters; the individual who gains the largest percentage in one constituency wins the seat reserved for that national minority.

Amza's daughter, Oana Pellea, sued Gigi Becali for using Amza Pellea's image without permission and won 35,000 lei in damages.

Gigi Becali often had disputes with Corneliu Vadim Tudor, another extremist politician.

Gigi Becali had another dispute with Prime Minister Calin Popescu-Tariceanu whom he named a "cockroach-politician" and a "Very Important Papagal".

At the June 2009 European Parliament election, Gigi Becali ran on Vadim's Greater Romania Party ticket and won a seat in the European Parliament.

Gigi Becali negotiated the coalition of PNG-CD with PNL, but the majority of the liberals did not agree with this measure.

On 19 October 2012, Gigi Becali joined PNL, with the support of the party president, Crin Antonescu.

Gigi Becali requested to be a member of the Judicial Commission of the Chamber of Deputies and received assurances that he will be appointed.

In 2024, Gigi Becali was elected a member of the Chamber of Deputies for the AUR party, but left on 14 March 2025 due to chairman George Simion's decision of collected signatures for a female presidential candidate Anamaria Gavrila, stating:.

Pavel claims that a few months after, Gigi Becali gave up those links.

In line with his conservative Orthodox Christian views, Gigi Becali has often made inflammatory remarks in the press regarding LGBT people.

In October 2006, Gigi Becali was awarded the LGBT community's "black ball" for the most homophobic personality in Romania, as part of the 2006 Gay Awards Gala which took place during the Gay Film Nights Festival of Cluj-Napoca.

Gigi Becali referred to gays as "sinners" and said that "they should go to the priest if they have problems in their head".

The secretary-general of the New Generation Party, Catalin Dancu, later appeared to distance himself from Gigi Becali's comments, declaring that, "As long as EU principles clearly state that minority rights must be respected, Romania as a member-state must respect them".

In 2010 Gigi Becali made public statements that Steaua would never employ a gay footballer.

The Council dismissed the complaint against Steaua because Gigi Becali is not an official spokesperson of the club.

Some of Gigi Becali's remarks have been considered xenophobic; for instance, in May 2008, the National Audiovisual Council fined the OTV channel for allowing Gigi Becali's "aggressive and xenophobic speech", which "instigated to hate against the Hungarian minority in Romania" to go on live, without any intervention from Dan Diaconescu, the talk show host.

Gigi Becali believes in a conspiracy of the "Hungarian Freemasons", claiming that it is they who are financing Steaua's adversary, CFR Cluj.

Gigi Becali called Parfait a "monkey" allegedly because the latter is of African origin.

Gigi Becali sang in April 2005 a manea which included a racial slur against the Roma.

In 2012, Gigi Becali refused to sign French football player Florent Sinama Pongolle on the basis that he was black, even though Romanian football player Banel Nicolita, who played with him at the French club Saint-Etienne, said that the player was very talented.

In February 2002, Gigi Becali cursed and threatened Cristian Tudor Popescu, a well-known journalist, in a cafe, after the latter had written the article "O statuie pentru Puiu Pascu" in Adevarul about the controversial land swap with the Army and the assault on Malonga Parfait.

Gigi Becali told Popescu that he should have been shot and that the journalists destroyed Romania.

In 2005, Gigi Becali provoked controversy by using extremely vulgar language in an interview, insulting the reporter and the channel he worked for.

In July 2005, in a restaurant, Gigi Becali cursed, spat and spilled a glass of wine on Serban Huidu, the creator of the satirical TV show Cronica Carcotasilor.

Gigi Becali got the nickname "Ioan Botezatorul" after this incident.

Gigi Becali currently is one of the favorite subjects of the Romanian media, due to his frequent slips of the tongue and inflammatory remarks.

For example, in July 2005, a reporter called Gigi Becali to ask him some questions related to the Steaua Bucuresti football club.

Gigi Becali used this opportunity to unleash a flurry of curses addressed to Antena 1 and Dan Voiculescu.

Gigi Becali himself said in the dialogue that "he is not a civilised man".

Gigi Becali was arrested for a month, but he got out of jail after two weeks.

Gigi Becali announced his candidacy for the European Parliament from his prison cell.

Romanian judges initially barred Gigi Becali from taking his MEP seat due to ongoing police investigation.

In February 2013, Gigi Becali was given a suspended sentence of 3 years in jail for this case.

In September 2007, Gigi Becali sparked controversy when he insulted parliamentarian Lavinia Sandru, stating that she should "go and become a candidate for the ring road, not for the European Parliament", a veiled reference to prostitution.

Gigi Becali has remarked that a woman "has no more value" after she has given birth to a child.

Gigi Becali has been sued various times, mostly over slander, by the football coach Anghel Iordanescu, politician Radu Berceanu and a Divizia A referee, Cristian Balaj.

Gigi Becali has been an outspoken critic of COVID-19 restrictions and vaccinations, comparing vaccines to being "shot in the head".

George Gigi Becali was sentenced to three years in prison on 20 May 2013.