Sports Roundup

The defending champions FCSB have failed to qualify to the play-off stage of the domestic championship this season.

Florin Orban, 02.03.2026, 13:45

Romania’s women’s national ice hockey team has been promoted to Group B of Division II of the World Championship. The Romanians move up to the fifth tier of world hockey after defeating Croatia 5–2 on Sunday in Zagreb, in their final match of Division III Group A. Earlier in the tournament, Romania beat Bulgaria 5–1, lost 3–4 to Turkey, defeated Serbia 3–2 after a penalty shootout, and then overcame Thailand 2–0.

At the Grand Slam judo tournament in Tashkent on Sunday, Romanian athlete Alexandru Sibişan was knocked out in the round of 16 in the 100kg category. He defeated India’s Avtar Singh in the first round but was then knocked out by Bahrain’s Said Sadrudinov, who went on to win the gold medal. In the same weight category, Rareş Arsenie was beaten in the first round by Russia’s Adam Sangariev. In the 90kg category, Alex Creţ lost in the first round to Georgia’s Lasha Bekauri, a two-time Olympic champion, who was defeated in the final by Azerbaijan’s Murat Fatiev. Vlad Vişan was also eliminated in the first round, by Fatiev himself. Romania competed in the tournament with eight male judoka, none of whom came close to the podium.

The play-off stage of Romania’s Super League, in which the final battle for the top places in the standings will take place, will be held, for the first time, without the reigning champions. With one round remaining before the end of the regular season, FCSB no longer have any chance of finishing in the top six places that qualify for the play-offs. Round 29 of the Super League, the last but one round played over the weekend, settled the final list of teams. Before the round, the top three were already known: Universitatea Craiova and the Bucharest sides Dinamo and Rapid. On Friday, Universitatea Cluj secured their place in the play-offs after a 4–0 home win over Oțelul Galați. The other Cluj-based team, CFR Cluj, claimed a top-six finish on Saturday with a 2–1 victory away to Farul Constanța in Ovidiu. On Sunday, FC Argeș joined the leading group after a 1–0 win in Bucharest against Dinamo. Under these circumstances, FCSB’s 4–2 victory in Arad against UTA Arad no longer had any bearing on the race for the play-offs. For the record, here are the other results. On Friday, FC Hermannstadt defeated FC Botoșani 3–1 in Sibiu. On Saturday in Craiova, Universitatea beat Metaloglobus Bucharest 2–1. On Sunday in Ploieşti, Petrolul Ploiești and FK Csíkszereda drew 1–1. On Monday, the final match of the round sees Unirea Slobozia take on Rapid Bucharest. In the standings, Universitatea Craiova are top with 59 points, followed by Rapid and Dinamo, both with 52. (VP)