The Hungary–Romania football rivalry is a competitive

sports rivalry A sports rivalry is intense competition between athletic teams or athletes, affecting participants, management, and supporters all to varying degrees. The intensity of the rivalry can range anywhere from a light hearted banter to serious violen ...

that exists between the national football teams of the two countries and their respective sets of

fans Fan commonly refers to: * Fan (machine), a machine for producing airflow, often used for cooling ** Hand fan, an implement held and waved by hand to move air for cooling * Fan (person), short for fanatic; an enthusiast or supporter, especially wit ...

. The national teams of

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

and

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

are longtime rivals, as the two countries are neighbours and had numerous conflicts through history. The first official match between the two teams dates back to 1936. Due to the general tension of the matches between the two teams and the numerous fan incidents resulting from the general feeling of antipathy between the two countries, it can be considered one of the most bitter rivalries of the football world.

Background

While the two teams have not met often, the cause of the rivalry is a historic rivalry between the two countries. After the end of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and the

Hungarian–Romanian War The Hungarian–Romanian War was fought between Hungary and Romania from 13 November 1918 to 3 August 1919. The conflict had a complex background, with often contradictory motivations for the parties involved. The Allies of World War I intended ...

, the

Treaty of Trianon The Treaty of Trianon (french: Traité de Trianon, hu, Trianoni békeszerződés, it, Trattato del Trianon) was prepared at the Paris Peace Conference and was signed in the Grand Trianon château in Versailles on 4 June 1920. It forma ...

was signed and Hungary lost

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

to Romania, as well as other territories to other neighboring countries. As a result, there is still a general feeling of antipathy between both countries today, and they often use sports to fuel it, football matches being the most important as football is the most popular sport in the two countries. But this also happens in other sports too, apart from football (for example basketball, handball, polo, volleyball, etc.).

Incidents

On 22 March 2013, during the FIFA World Cup 2014 qualification – UEFA Group D, around 5,000 Hungarian fans clashed with the Hungarian police after the game – the match was held with no spectators according to the former decision of FIFA because of the incidents of the Hungary–Israel friendly – at the Ferenc Puskás Stadium between the two teams finished 2–2. Days before a 6 September 2013 match at the

Arena Națională Arena Națională () is a retractable roof football stadium in Bucharest, Romania. It opened in 2011 on the site of the original National Stadium, which was demolished between 2007 and 2008. The stadium hosts major football matches including h ...

between the two teams, during the FIFA World Cup 2014 qualification – UEFA Group D, the Hungarian fans chanted xenophobic chants aimed at Romania at matches in the Hungarian League and posted messages aiming at violence towards Romanians in online forums. A part of the Hungarian fans went in Romania for the game with shirts showing the message "Hungary on Tour - Gypsyland, Bucharest 2013.09.06.". Hours before the game, hundreds of Hungarian hooligans attempted devastating the

Bucharest Old Town The Old Town is located in the center of Bucharest, Romania and is known for its nightlife. * Ion C. Brătianu Boulevard crosses the historic center from north to south, dividing this area into two approximately equal parts. Also in this perimete ...

and starting fights with the Romanian police, who promptly stopped them using tear gas and brute force. On 6 September 2013, during FIFA World Cup 2014 qualification – UEFA Group D in the Arena Națională, Romanian fans booed the Hungarian anthem and lit flares in some areas of the auditorium. After Hungary lost the match 0–3, Hungarian fans were quickly transported back home to prevent any conflict, but Hungarian fans clashed with both Romanian fans and police forces, angered by their team's crushing defeat against their biggest rivals. For this group,

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

finished as first with 28 points and qualified directly for the 2014 FIFA World Cup,

finished as second with 19 points and qualified for the play-ofs,

finished as third with 17 points,

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

finished as fourth with 16 points,

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

finished as fifth with 7 points and

Andorra , image_flag = Flag of Andorra.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Andorra.svg , symbol_type = Coat of arms , national_motto = la, Virtus Unita Fortior, label=none (Latin)"United virtue is stro ...

finished as sixth with 0 points and with 0 goals. For the play-off matches, Romania needed to beat

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

won the first match in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

with 3-1 and the match in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

ended with a 1-1 draw among both teams, so Greece won 4-2, qualified for the tournament and meanwhile Romania eliminated from the World Cup. On 11 October 2014, during the

UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying Group F The UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying Group F was one of the nine groups to decide which teams would qualify for the UEFA Euro 2016 finals tournament. Group F consisted of six teams: Greece, Hungary, Romania, Finland, Northern Ireland, and Faroe Islands, ...

match between Romania and Hungary at the Arena Națională, illicit banners and crowd disturbances were detected by the

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...

. A part of the Hungarian fans went in Romania for the game with shirts showing the message "Hungary on Tour - Gypsyland II, Bucharest 2014.10.11., as they exactly did on September 2013. After the Hungarian anthem was whistled by the Romanian fans, during the intonatation of the Romanian anthem, the Hungarian fans turned on their backs and showed obscene gestures. According to Gazeta Sporturilor, Romanian ultras were let to the Stadium without properly being searched and, before the match between Hungary and Romania, threw firecrackers, lighters and steam grenades at the Hungarian fans, who responded by throwing broken chairs at the Romanian ultras. After the anthems were played, Hungarian fans broke the barriers that held their sector in the stadium closed and attempted to start a fight with the Romanian fans. The security guards (employees of the BGS Security Division) brutally tried to make order in the Romanian sector and many spectators, including some innocent ones, were injured. In response, the Romanian ultras threw two security guards through a fence. According to Adevărul, the events were not far away from a cancellation of the match, that would have resulted in a 0–3 score for Hungary, because the Romanian fans used pyrotechnical tools in a huge amount. As a result of the continuous explosions of steam petards, the situation was compared with the one at the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...

. Finally, the Romanian Football Federation (FRF) apologized in front of the Romanian fans because of the actions of the security guards. Despite the FRF's earlier notifications, the Romanian fans made xenophobic chants like "Afară, afară cu ungurii din țară". In return, the Hungarian fans chanted "cigányok, cigányok". During another game, Hungarian forward Ádám Szalai had a goal disallowed for offside six minutes before the break, causing Hungarian fans to set several seats on fire. The final result was 1–1, but the match was simply a side-note to the brutal violence both on and off the pitch. Scottish referee William Collum was forced to dish out 12

yellow cards Yellow card may refer to: * Yellow card (sport), shown in many sports after a rules infraction or, by analogy, a serious warning in other areas * Yellowcard, an American alternative rock band * Yellow Card Scheme, a United Kingdom initiative conce ...

during the match, while police sprayed tear gas at fans in the stands. Both sets of supporters created a deafening roar throughout the game, letting off flares and firecrackers, to the dismay of onlooking police. The UEFA started an investigation and at the end, both countries' football federations were punished. One week before a 4 September 2015 game between the two teams, the

Hungarian Football Federation The Hungarian Football Federation ( hu, Magyar Labdarúgó Szövetség, MLSZ) is the governing body of football in Hungary. It organizes the Hungarian league and the Hungarian national team. It is based in Budapest. Honours ;National Team * Worl ...

fined 6 first league Hungarian clubs a total of over 3 million forints for xenophobic insults by their fans directed at Romania. These incidents occurred during the first league matches Diósgyőr-Újpest 2–1, Honvéd-Puskás Akadémia 0–0, Vasas-MTK 0–1 and Videoton-Debrecen 1–0, the fined clubs were Újpest, Honvéd, Videoton, Debrecen, MTK and Diósgyőr. On 3 September 2015, one day before an UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying Group F match, Hungarian football hooligans clashed with the Hungarian police in the streets of Budapest, 16 of them being arrested. Furthermore, the hotel which was hosting the Romanian team was assaulted by Hungarian hooligans. Hours before the game, Hungarian fans attempted fights against the Romanian fans in the Romanian fanzone by throwing firecrackers and flares at them, but the Hungarian police forced stopped the two groups of fans from clashing. Also before the game, a small group of Romanian fans supporting rival Romanian teams (Steaua Bucharest and Dinamo Bucharest) started to insult and beat each other in one of the stands. The Steaua fans responsible for the altercation (there was already tension between the Dinamo and Steaua fans due to Steaua fans deciding to wear their SUD Steaua shirts at the game instead of Romania shirts like the other over 1000 Romanian fans, the altercation started when Steaua fans misheard Dinamo fans' "Trianon" chant directed at the Hungarian fans as "Dinamo" and tried attacking them) were escorted out of the arena. In return, the Hungarian fans chanted "cigányok" at the Romanian fans. The Romanian fans responded by chanting "bozgorii" at the Hungarian fans for much of the match. A few days before the match, there was a campaign by a section of Hungarians to show superiority during the rejection of the Romanian National Anthem, which was named "Ne fütyüld ki a román himnuszt!" (Which means: Do not whistle the Romanian Anthem!). However this did not happen. During the game, Hungarian fans booed Romania's national anthem with turning on their backs, showing obscene gestures, whistling all the time and lit flares and torches inside the stadium. They also chanted xenophobic chants such as "cigányok" at the Romanian team and its fans for the remainder of the game, which finished 0–0. After when the Romania's national anthem was booed by the Hungarian fans, during the intonatation of the Hungarian anthem, the Romanian fans turned on their backs, showed obscene gestures and shouted disgusting slogans against Hungary. For this group,

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

finished as first with 21 points and qualified directly for the

UEFA Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...

finished as second with 20 points and qualified directly for the

finished as third with 16 points and qualified for the

play-offs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

finished as fourth with 12 points,

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...

finished as fifth with 6 points (2 wins against Greece) and

finished as sixth with 6 points too, but due to the two Faroese wins against Greece, Faroe Islands finished as fifth and Greece as sixth and last. For the play-off matches, Hungary needed to beat

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

won the first match in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...

with 1-0 and the match in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

with 2-1, so Hungary won 3-1 and qualified for the tournament.

Matches

---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ''

won 5–4 on aggregate'' ''(After Replay; After Second Leg: 3–3)'' ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----

Stadia

''As of 1 September 2019''

Statistics

''As of 14 June 2016''
/ref>

Top scorers

Hungary

* Ferenc Puskás (9 goals) *

Sándor Kocsis Sándor Péter Kocsis (; ; 21 September 1929 – 22 July 1979) was a Hungarian footballer who played for Ferencváros TC, Budapest Honvéd, Young Fellows Zürich, FC Barcelona and Hungary as a striker. During the 1950s, along with Ferenc Pu ...

(5 goals) *

Béla Egresi Béla Egresi (born in Csepel on 11 May 1922 – died in Budapest on 10 June 1999) was a Hungarian football forward, who played for Kispest and Újpest FC, as well as representing 23 times the Hungarian national football team The Hungary ...

(4 goals) *

Nándor Hidegkuti Nándor Hidegkuti (3 March 1922 – 14 February 2002) was a Hungarian football player and manager. He played as a forward or attacking midfielder and spent the majority of his playing career at MTK Hungária FC. During the 1950s he was also ...

(4 goals) * Ferenc Deák (2 goals) * Balázs Dzsudzsák (2 goals) *

Lajos Kocsis Lajos Kocsis (18 June 1947 in Szeged – 9 October 2000 in Budapest) was a Hungarian football midfielder, who played for Bp. Honvéd SE. He was an Olympic champion in 1968. Club career Kocsis started his career in his native town of Szeged, ...

(2 goals) *

József Mészáros József Mészáros (16 January 1923 – 21 April 1997) was a Hungarian footballer and football manager. External links * 1923 births 1997 deaths Hungarian footballers Hungary international footballers Hungarian football manager ...

(2 goals) * István Szőke (2 goals) * László Branikovits (1 goal) *

László Budai László Budai (19 July 1928 – 2 July 1983), also known as László Bednarik, or Budai II, was a former Hungarian footballer and coach. Budai was born in Budapest and played as a midfielder and forward for Ferencvárosi TC, Honvéd and Hung ...

(1 goal) *

Zoltán Czibor Zoltán Czibor (23 August 1929 – 1 September 1997) was a Hungarian footballer who played for several Hungarian clubs, including Ferencváros and Budapest Honvéd, and the Hungary national team before joining CF Barcelona. Czibor played as ...

(1 goal) *

László Fazekas László Fazekas (born 15 October 1947) is a Hungarian former football player who played the third most international games for the Hungarian national team. Fazekas played in the 1978 and the 1982 World Cup. In the latter tournament, he sco ...

(1 goal) * László Gyetvai (1 goal) * János Hrutka (1 goal) * Gyula Lázár (1 goal) *

István Nyers István Nyers (; 25 May 1924 – 9 March 2005), also known as Stefano Nyers, was a Hungarian footballer who played as a forward or as a winger. Although he played in only two international matches for Hungary, he is considered one of the gre ...

(1 goal) * Ferenc Rudas (1 goal) *

György Sárosi György Sárosi (; 5 August 1912 – 20 June 1993) was a Hungarian footballer. Sárosi was a complete footballer renowned for his versatility and technique among other things, and he played in several positions for Ferencváros and the Hungary ...

(1 goal) *

Lajos Tichy Lajos Tichy (21 March 1935 – 6 January 1999), nicknamed "The Nation's Bomber", was a Hungarian footballer. He is the most prolific goalscorer in total matches in recorded history according to RSSSF with over 1912 goals scored in over 1301 m ...

(1 goal) * Géza Toldi (1 goal) * Mátyás Tóth (1 goal) * Vilmos Vanczák (1 goal) *

Mihály Vasas Mihály Vasas (born 14 September 1933) is a Hungarian football forward who played for Hungary in the 1958 FIFA World Cup.Gyula Zsengellér Gyula Zsengellér (27 December 1915 – 29 March 1999) was a Hungarian footballer who played as a striker. A legend of Újpest FC, he is most famous for his part in taking the Hungarian national team to the 1938 World Cup Final. He was that ...

(1 goal)

Romania

* Marius Niculae (3 goals) * Adrian Ilie (2 goals) *

Alexandru Neagu Alexandru "Sandu" Neagu (19 July 1948 – 17 April 2010) was a Romanian footballer who played as a striker. Club career Alexandru Neagu, nicknamed '' Cappellini from Giulești'' by journalist Ioan Chirilă was born on 19 July 1948 in the R ...

(2 goals) * Iosif Petschovschi (2 goals) *

Silviu Bindea Silviu Bindea (24 October 1912 – 6 March 1992) was a Romanian football player and coach. He represented Romania at the 1934 and 1938 World Cups as a forward, scoring twice in a first-round game in 1938. Honours Player ;Ripensia Timișoara *L ...

(1 goal) * Gabriel Caramarin (1 goal) * Alexandru Chipciu (1 goal) *

Ionel Dănciulescu Ionel Daniel Dănciulescu (born 6 December 1976) is a Romanian former professional footballer who played as a forward. He holds the all-time record for the most competitive appearances in Liga I, with 515 games played over the course of twenty ...

(1 goal) * Constantin Dinulescu (1 goal) *

Nicolae Dobrin Nicolae Dobrin (; 26 August 1947 – 26 October 2007) was a Romanian footballer who played as an attacking midfielder and a manager. Nicknamed ''Gâscanul'' ("The Gander") or ''Prințul din Trivale'' ("The Prince of Trivale"), he is considered o ...

(1 goal) * Francisc Fabian (1 goal) *

Tiberiu Ghioane Tiberiu Ghioane (born 18 June 1981) is a Romanian former professional footballer. He played most of his career for Dynamo Kyiv as a defensive midfielder before retiring from football in July 2011. Club career Ghioane was born in Târgu Secuiesc. ...

(1 goal) *

Ciprian Marica Ciprian Andrei Marica (; born 2 October 1985) is a Romanian former footballer and minority shareholder of Farul Constanța. He played as a centre forward. Club career Dinamo București Marica's first professional club team was Dinamo Bucureșt ...

(1 goal) * Dorin Mihuţ (1 goal) * Viorel Moldovan (1 goal) *

Dorinel Munteanu Dorinel Ionel Munteanu (; born 25 June 1968) is a Romanian retired professional footballer and manager. A former midfielder, Munteanu is the most capped Romanian player of all time, with a total of 134 appearances and 16 goals. He played in tw ...

(1 goal) *

Adrian Mutu Adrian Mutu (; born 8 January 1979) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player, who is in charge of Liga I club Rapid București. During his playing career, he was deployed as a forward or an attacking midfielder. Mutu star ...

(1 goal) *

Titus Ozon Titus Ozon (13 May 1927 – 24 November 1996) was a Romanian international football striker and manager. He was considered one of the greatest talents of the postwar in the Romanian football, famous for his extraordinary ability to dribble. Car ...

(1 goal) * Mihai Pintilii (1 goal) *

Raul Rusescu Raul Andrei Rusescu (born 9 July 1988) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Liga II side Concordia Chiajna. Club career CSM Râmnicu Vâlcea At age seven, Rusescu was spotted by Cristi Bora at a trial and brought ...

(1 goal) *

Francisc Spielmann Francisc Spielmann ( hu, Sárvári Ferenc; 10 July 1916 – 21 November 1974) was a football player and coach of German ethnicity who played as a striker at international level for Romania and Hungary. Career Spielmann begin his football caree ...

(1 goal) *

Ion Suru Ion Suru (20 October 1927 – 1979) was a Romanian footballer. He competed in the men's tournament at the 1952 Summer Olympics. Honours ;Dinamo București *Liga I The Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1, is a Romanian ...

(1 goal) * Lajos Sătmăreanu (1 goal) * Cristian Tănase (1 goal) *Active players in bold

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hungary-Romania Football Rivalry International association football rivalries Hungary national football team Romania national football team Hungary–Romania relations

Background

Incidents

Matches

Stadia

Statistics

Top scorers

Hungary

Romania

See also

References