Ex-tennis legend Ilie Nastase, author of a „coffee electoral attack”

Chairman of People’s Movement Party in Bucharest, Cristian Petrescu, has filed a complaint against former tennis top player Ilie Nastase to the Central Electoral Bureau on Tuesday. Ilie Nastase is accused of throwing coffee at an election banner with Traian Basescu (PMP chairman) and is now facing a fine ranging from RON 1,000 to RON 2,500 for damaging electoral materials.

“We consider this deplorable gesture of Mr. Ilie Nastase, a public personality enjoying widespread notoriety, general in the Romanian Army and candidate for European elections on the UNPR lists, represents a total lack of respect for the MEPs election, but particularly for the followers or our party and of Traian Basescu”, reads the complaint filed by PMP Bucharest.

The leader of PMP Bucharest Cristian Petrescu has posted a video on Facebook, featuring Ilie Nastase throwing coffee on a banner with Traian Basescu, who opens the PMP list for EP elections.

In retort, Ilie Nastase told Romania TV that he was outraged that political parties receive hundreds of millions of euros for electoral banners, while he and Anghel Iordanescu did not receive such sums of money.

Asked if he fears the consequences of his move, the former tennis champion replied: “Well, I can also file a complaint against him (editor note: Traian Basescu) for calling me a thug, I can file a complaint for he stole the ships or that he took an apartment for free from the mayor. I will do all these.”

Former president Traian Basescu, running for a MEP seat, has retorted that he is “overcome with repulsion following Ilie Nastase’s act to throw coffee at one of the banners featuring him. “What he was and what he’s got, poor him“, Basescu commented.

The former head of state also said that it has been the lowest level of the electoral campaign since 1990.

“The level of the campaign is the lowest I’ve ever seen since 1990. Barked, brazen patriotism. Patriotism is carried in the soul, like the mother’s love, is not barked. Cheap nationalism,” Basescu added.