Before their upcoming "final" in the Superliga, Universitatea Craiova requested that U Cluj players undergo doping controls. Just a few days ago, the two teams faced each other in the Romanian Cup final, with Craiova winning on penalties. The next match, a crucial playoff game, is set for Sunday, May 17th, at 8:30 PM at the "Ion Oblemenco" stadium.

This match is part of the penultimate round of the Superliga playoffs. A win for Craiova would mathematically secure the title, as they currently lead the standings with one point ahead of U Cluj, who are in second place.

Cristi Balaj, a former referee and ex-president of the National Anti-Doping Agency (ANAD), explained what a doping test entails. “You can have a doping test for the entire opposing team. When an analysis is conducted, the urine test is paramount because it includes most of the substances on the banned list that are analyzed. This includes metabolites, anabolic steroids, exogenous testosterone, stimulants, narcotics, and diuretics,” he said for fanatik.ro.

U Cluj’s president, Radu Constantea, addressed the cost of these doping tests, which reportedly amount to 40,000 euros, paid for by Mihai Rotaru. He commented, “This could be standard procedure; I don’t see anything irregular with it. U Cluj has nothing to hide and is open to doping controls. It’s hard to speculate it’s harassment from Craiova; I don’t see any such intent coming from them! It’s an ANAD procedure that happens periodically. I don’t see anything abnormal or wrong.”

In the previous playoff match, U Cluj dominated, winning 4-0 on their home ground at Cluj Arena.