The team formerly known as Steaua Bucharest were stripped of their name, colours and crest for this Sunday's 1-0 victory over CSMS Iasi after Romania's highest court ruled last week that the club had been using their branding illegally since 2004.
The club took to the field against Iasi in their away strip of yellow and the scoreboard of their Ghencea stadium referred to them simply as hosts.
Badge covered on the shirts, yellow instead of Steaua's regular red & blue. #AbandonedTeam pic.twitter.com/DgLNkSGYgH
— Emanuel Ro?u (@Emishor) December 7, 2014
I think this is the image of the year in Romanian football. Scoreboard for tonight, after Steaua disappeared! pic.twitter.com/K3Zv4JLMZd — Emanuel Ro?u (@Emishor) December 7, 2014
The club were founded in 1947 as a team for the army and went on to have a high level of success, culminating in the 1986 European Cup final victory over Barcelona in Seville.
However, it is their beginnings as an army team which has now seen them on the brink of losing their identity. The Ministry of National Defence are leading the trademark battle and although they will be allowed to use their branding for Thursday night's Europa League tie against Dynamo Kiev, they have until the 15th of December to reach an agreement according to Romanian journalist Emanuel Ro?u.
After the 15 of December, Steaua will return to current situation! The generals want money and they will negotiate on new terms.
— Emanuel Ro?u (@Emishor) December 8, 2014
