English• Should the company which owns the club enter bankruptcy, the rights to soccer club Rapid Bucureşti would go to an association led by George Copos, free of charge
• The association has the right of pre-emption over the goodwill of the club, in case the shareholders themselves decided the voluntary liquidation of the company
• The Rapid Soccer club owes 10.5 million lei in unpaid taxes, for which the National Tax Collection Agency has already begun the foreclosure procedure
The financial troubles of the SC Rapid SA have determined owner George Copos to take defensive measures aimed at protecting the soccer if the company which owns it were to enter liquidation.
In the event of liquidation, the club"s rights to play in domestic and foreign tournaments will be transferred free of charge to the "Rapid Soccer Club Association", according to the amendments of the company"s articles of incorporation, which were published last week in the Official Gazette.
Ion Taban, the chairman of "Fotbal Club Rapid" SA, claims that the amendments of the company"s articles of incorporation are intended to offer pre-emption rights to the Association in case the joint stock company which owns the club entered liquidation.
The decision of the shareholders provides that in the case of voluntary liquidation, the "Rapid Soccer Club Association" will be entitled to acquire the rights of unlimited and exclusive use of any brands, emblems and other symbols owned by the company which controls "Rapid". Moreover, should the company which owns the club undergo liquidation due to other reasons than the decision of its shareholders, the ownership of the club would be transferred to the association, allowing the club to continue to function.
Ion Taban said: "This amendment is not a safety net as you called it, it is just an addition to the articles of incorporation. I must stress that there is no question of liquidation the joint stock company any more than there are any plans for its voluntary liquidation".
Dumitru Dragomir, the chairman of the Professional Football League, was extremely surprised with the decision of the shareholders of the Rapid soccer club, and stated the following: "I was not aware of these amendments. I wasn"t notified of what they did. They"re probably trying to safeguard against their debts".
George Copos was not available to comment on the financial situation of the club and on the revision of the articles of incorporation of the company.
The company which owns the Rapid soccer club has over 10.5 million lei in back taxes, for which the National Tax Administration Agency (ANAF) claims it has begun the enforced collection procedure since last year.
Several private companies have requested last year the bankruptcy of the Rapid soccer club, due to unpaid liabilities, but all those lawsuits were later settled in favor of the club.
On September 29, 2009, one of the companies, Elite Events SRL, even succeeded in getting the court to open the insolvency proceedings against the club.
It could be that this decision is the reason that made George Copos change the articles of incorporation of the Club in order to allow it to continue to participate in official competitions, if the appeal against the insolvency proceedings were dismissed.
FC Rapid SA won the appeal in the Court of Appeal against the insolvency procedure, and on January 12, 2010 the bankruptcy judge decided to dismiss the insolvency proceedings.
The Rapid Soccer Club Association, which would be used to take over the club in the event of the liquidation of the company, was set up eight years ago by George Copos, and includes the Ministry of Transport which owns the Giuleşti stadium, on which Rapid plays, among its founding members.
Over time, the Board of Directors of the Association has featured Răzvan Lucescu, the current trainer of the national soccer team, sports agent Ioan Becali, as well as the controversial Mihai Nicolaiciuc.
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