FCSB owner says women playing soccer is 'against God’s will'

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Gigi Becali, owner of Romania's soccer club Steaua Bucharest snorted at the idea of establishing a female soccer team and said allowing women to play the sport is "against God's will" during a live phone-in on Romanian TV show "Ora Exacta in Sport."

Becali said he would quit if the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) forced him to have a female team. "I'll quit football! You can't do things against God's will. (It's) aligning to Satan's ideas. How can a woman play football? She isn't built for playing football. Her body isn't made for football. It's dangerous... it's against human nature," said Becali.

Players of Steaua Bucharest celebrate their 1-0 victory over Al Gharafa. /VCG Photo

"The female was created to be beautiful, to attract the opposite sex. We are affecting women by letting them play football or by allowing them to box. They should play handball, volleyball, basketball, but not aggressive sports," said Becali.

This is not the first time the 60-year-old club owner has made controversial remarks. According to RT, in 2013 he refused to sit at the same table with his Ajax counterpart Hennie Henrichs because Henrichs was wearing cheap shoes.

In 2010, he fired Turkish coach Yuksel Yesilova because he believed that a Muslim specialist had brought bad luck to his Christian team. Becali even banned the team's in-house DJ from playing Queen records because of lead singer Freddie Mercury's sexual orientation.

Lyon's Saki Kumagai from Japan (L) and PSG's Wang Shuang from China (R) in the game between their teams. /VCG Photo

On the issue of women playing soccer, Chinese fans are likely to disagree with the Steaua owner. The country's female soccer player Wang Shuang who currently plays for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) of Division 1 Feminine has already become China's pride in soccer.

French media outlet Piedscarres put Wang in the "Best 11" of the first half of the 2018-19 season as she scored four goals and six assists, helping PSG follow Lyon very close as No. 2 on the standing table. The other Asian player who received the honor was Lyon's Saki Kumagai from Japan.