Gheorghe "Gica" Popescu, a former captain of Romania's national team, has admitted that he served as an informer for the country's secret police during the regime of the late dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. After initially denying accusations about his involvement with the government, Popescu told the newspaper Evenimentul Zilei that he wrote four informing notes about teammates and other colleagues while playing at Universitatea Craiova.
During Ceausescu's dictatorship, which ended in 1989, the Securitate relied on an army of 700,000 informants in a country of 22 million. The security services kept tabs on Romania's athletes, and some players in international competitions reportedly were asked to share details of conversations with foreigners. Romanian star Gheorghe Hagi, who is related to Popescu through marriage, came to his defense, saying sports had brought glory to Romania. "We were the ambassadors for Romania. They should look elsewhere" for Securitate agents, he said. Popescu also defends his actions. "Even if I wrote notes, I wrote good things," he said. "I praised people."
The defender was part of a Romanian team that qualified for three consecutive World Cups starting in 1990 and for two European Championships. He also helped Barcelona win the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1997.