FCSB’s emphatic Conference League elimination at the hands of FK Auda has prompted a furious response in Romania, where the 4–1 defeat in Riga was portrayed as a national footballing embarrassment rather than merely an unexpected European result.
Auda completed one of the most striking European victories in the club’s history on Thursday evening, defeating FCSB 4–1 at Skonto Stadium and advancing 7–3 on aggregate.
Barthélemy Diedhiou struck twice (45+2′, 67′) for the two-times Latvian Cup holders, with Kader Kone (84′) and Tin Hrvoj (90+3′) adding further goals after Joao Paulo had briefly brought FCSB level in the 58th minute. The final two goals transformed a difficult evening for the visitors into a rout, bringing their European campaign to an end in only the second qualifying round.
In Romania, the reaction was immediate and unforgiving.
Gazeta Sporturilor led with perhaps the strongest headline of the night: “Unimaginable, shameful! FCSB lose 4–1 in Latvia and are eliminated by Auda.”
Its match report described the result as an “absolute disgrace” and concluded that FCSB had left behind “a new point on the map of Romanian football’s shame.”
The newspaper argued that FCSB had controlled long periods without turning possession into goals, while Auda remained compact and ruthlessly exploited the space left behind by the visitors. It was particularly critical of the defending for Diedhiou’s opening goal and the error involving Joao Paulo before the striker’s second.
The article also carried a Romanian-language play on Auda’s name – “AU DAt cu piciorul Europei” – which can be translated approximately as “they kicked Europe away.”
Sport.ro also used wordplay in its headline, writing that FCSB had been “Auda-ed for four in Riga” before confirming that the former Romanian champions had been eliminated from the Conference League.
Elsewhere, the outlet described Auda as having “destroyed FCSB” and published a wider verdict on the state of the domestic game under the headline: “Romanian football is underground”, with former Romania international Ciprian Marica being quoted asking: “Is this our level? Is this the reality of Romanian football?”
Fanatik was likewise direct, with headline reading: “Humiliation! The red-and-blues make fools of themselves in Latvia and are eliminated from Europe.”
The outlet noted that FCSB had entered the tie as overwhelming favourites, but lost both matches against Auda and conceded seven goals across the two legs. Its post-match coverage focused heavily on the individual mistakes committed by the visitors, particularly the breakdown that allowed Diedhiou to restore Auda’s lead shortly after Joao Paulo had equalised.
Orange Sport used almost identical language, reporting: “Baciu’s team made a fool of itself in the Conference League qualifiers.”
It described the 7–3 aggregate defeat as the end of FCSB’s European road and later highlighted the angry reaction of club owner Gigi Becali, who publicly blamed members of the playing and coaching staff.
ProSport centred its immediate coverage on the reaction of FCSB captain Florin Tănase. Its headline quoted him describing the match as “a black night” and “a shameful, disastrous result.”
The outlet also carried an assessment from former Steaua player Marcel Pușcaș, whose verdict was equally severe: “What kind of football is this? Seven-three – God help us.” Other ProSport headlines said FCSB had “made a laughing stock of themselves against Auda”.
More conventional news organisations adopted a calmer tone. Mediafax led with “Shocking! FCSB eliminated from the UEFA Conference League,” while the Romanian national news agency AGERPRES reported simply that FCSB had been beaten 4–1 by Auda and eliminated.
Yet even among the more restrained outlets, there was no attempt to minimise the scale of the result. FCSB had not only failed to overturn their 3–2 first-leg defeat in Bucharest but had been beaten more convincingly in Riga by what seems like a thoroughly underestimated Auda side that approached both matches with greater organisation, efficiency and composure.
Having progressed to the third qualifying round of the Conference League, Auda will now face 18-times Albanian Champions Dinamo Tirana, with first fixture in Riga, on 6th of August.
