Prime minister Marcel Ciolacu announced on Tuesday that he will not participate in the closing ceremony of the Paris Olympics after the situation in gymnastics, which he describes as “scandalous”, because Romanian sportswomen were treated “in an absolutely dishonorable way”.

“To withdraw a medal obtained through honest work on the basis of a dispute, which neither the coaches nor the top technicians understand, is totally unacceptable! It is inadmissible that, in a competition of such scope, which promotes values such as respect, understanding and excellence, a child who had honestly earned her medal should be brutally deprived of a result of her work for four years! I could not look at her tears and calmly accept that such a thing is perfectly normal!” on Tuesday wrote Marcel Ciolacu on Facebook.

According to the prime minister, “the fact that hundreds of millions of viewers from all over the world were, like us, the Romanians, effectively shocked by this terrible scene, shows that somewhere in the system of organizing this competition, something is wrong”.

“I remember very well how, under communism, the Russians stole from us at the Olympics, and we tried to argue with them without having much chance of winning. I don’t want to argue with anyone today, I just choose to protest with my gesture against a blatant injustice to some Romanian women who have proven their worth to the full! Sabrina and Ana Maria, you have an entire nation for whom your work and tears are more valuable than any medal, no matter what precious metal it is! And I assure you that the Romanian state will treat you, including in terms of awards, like Olympic medalists. Because that’s what you are for all of us!” the head of the government said.

Ana Maria Barbosu finished fourth in the floor event on Monday, in the artistic gymnastics competition of the Paris Olympic Games, while Sabrina Maneca-Voinea placed fifth. Barbosu appeared to be in the bronze medal position for a few tens of seconds, but American Jordan Chiles then made a successful appeal and her score was increased from 13.666 to 13.766, placing her in third position. Sabrina Maneca-Voinea also filed an appeal for the grade she received (13,700), but it was rejected.