Sports Weekend

The European Rowing Championships are taking place in Varese, Italy, with Romanian athletes having a good chance of winning medals

Florin Orban, 31.07.2026, 13:45

Romania’s men’s sabre team won bronze medals on Thursday at the World Fencing Championships in Hong Kong. Vlad Covaliu, George Dragomir, Radu Niţu and Răzvan Ursachi defeated the Hungarian team 45–39 in the third-place play-off. The Romanian fencers’ haul at these world championships also included a bronze medal won by Radu Niţu in the individual sabre event.

We are also expecting medals for Romania this weekend, given that the European Rowing Championships are taking place in Varese, Italy. The Romanian team comprises 41 athletes competing in 14 events, of which 12 are Olympic and 2 are non-Olympic. At last year’s European Championships, held in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, Romania won seven medals: three gold, two silver and two bronze.

Moving on to football. The number of Romanian teams in European competitions was halved on Thursday, as FCSB and Universitatea Cluj were knocked out of the Conference League qualifiers. FCSB were beaten 4–1 in Riga by the Latvian side Auda. In the first leg, in Bucharest, the Latvians had won 3–2. The Cluj students were knocked out by the Norwegian side Brann Bergen, who beat them 3–1 away on Thursday. In Romania, a week earlier, the score had been a 2–2 draw. The Cluj-based side CFR are through to the next round of the Conference League. On Thursday, the Transylvanians beat the Armenian side Alashkert 3–0, following a 1–1 draw in the first leg of the two-legged tie in Yerevan. In the third qualifying round of the Conference League, CFR will face Norwegian side Tromsø. We recall that Universitatea Craiova were knocked out of the Champions League qualifiers on Wednesday and will now play in the Europa League against Finnish champions KuPS Kuopio.

The third round of the Romanian Superliga football championship takes place this weekend. On Friday, there are two matches: FC Argeş v Csikszereda and Oţelul Galaţi v Dinamo Bucharest. On Saturday, FC Voluntari play at home against UTA, whilst Universitatea Craiova host Petrolul Ploieşti. On Sunday, in Hunedoara, Corvinul face Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe, whilst in Bucharest, Rapid take on CFR Cluj. The final two matches of the round are on Monday: Universitatea Cluj v FC Botoşani and FCSB v Farul Constanţa. FCSB top the table, the only team to have won both of their matches so far in the current Superliga season. (MI)