I was reading the comments of the president of the Romanian Judo Federation, Cozmin Gusa, on Agerpres today about the weaker results of Romanian judo in 2023 which Gusa also attributed to the counters and indirect obstacles to Romania, obstacles actually produced by a Romanian: Marius Vizer , the president of the International Judo Federation.
How sad! A strong and rotten rich Romanian fighting against his own country!
But the truth is that Marius Vizer is no longer Romanian in mentality.
Not even in consciousness.
Romania is far, at the other end of his “soul’s globe”, from Marius, whom I also knew, and Cozmin Gusa certainly did but under different circumstances.
Today’s Marius Vizer, who will be 65 next year, grew old by self-institutionalizing himself, a moral process that usually takes place inside people who no longer have friends and stakes, those whose hearts shrink to the level of a raisin, like in the story of the Grinch.
If, in the old days, “Marius” was happy with a glass of champagne and a funny joke, today he is happy only when a street is named after him.We are at the beginning of 2007 and the IJF – the International Judo Federation – is “arrested” by Yong Sung Park, a South Korean ultra-billionaire in dollars, unscrupulous CEO of the oldest industrial group of South Korea, Doosan.
In 2005, Park was barely re-elected as president of the IJF, being strongly contested by a rising star of international judo, a guy who was not even 50 years old, the Romanian Marius Vizer, who had done wonders as president of the EJU, the continental federation.
Vizer lost by 15 votes in 2005, but remained a challenger to Park.
In March 2006, the executive board of the IOC – the International Olympic Committee – temporarily suspended Park due to some legal problems he had in South Korea, having been accused of embezzling funds from Doosan. It’s a fascinating story, and one of incredible power games, after which Yong Sung Park expelled his brother from the helm of the company following an abominable conspiracy. Dissatisfied with the idea, the banished brother committed suicide 3 years later.
In January 2007, Park was “re-evaluated” by the IOC and his suspension was lifted. He was stronger than ever. In Seoul, his corruption case was put on hold. Park had no intention of leaving the IJF except in a coffin.
I had been in a friendly relationship with Vizer for a few years. Even in 2007, after years of working as an investigative journalist, I didn’t have a job, I had left the press a few months prior and wanted to focus on a small business, a branding agency.
I worshipped Vizer, who was a cool, strong, principled guy, a Romanian who had transformed judo in Europe from the sport of starving athletes into a phenomenon, restoring the dignity of this sport to the public.
Studying a little (or a bit more) the “map” of the power in South Korea, the legal aspects of the criminal cases of the VIPs in Seoul, I realized that I found a thin crack in the enormous shield of the South Korean ultra-billionaire and devised a plan that, if it succeeded, would force Park to resign before the expiration of his mandate.
I needed a bit of luck and balls (which I already had) to succeed, but also to manage two impossible things: to find new perspectives on Park’s corruption case and to “unblock” the national press, which was bought by Doosan.
Vizer is a gambler of his own destiny (he won enormously by taking risks, he lost badly when he was not careful or cautious). He quickly understood the plan and I went incognito to Seoul.
South Korea is a special country. A bizarre mixture of moral feudalism with ultra-technology and a rich democracy. The greatly corrupt political actors can be arrested overnight, however, the VIPs in business, those from big families like Samsung, have always had special treatment when they broke the law.
It is also a tough country in terms of security, where phones and communications are tapped “by default” by the state. I was right to be cautious, but I already had years of experience in investigative work. It was not easy for me to buy a SIM card using someone else’s identity, I changed internet cafes every 3 hours, I slept only in sordid hotels dedicated to “love” (they can be rented for as little as two hours), where there are no registers and no you are asked for documents. I was right to fear that I might be discovered. Meeting with several powerful journalists from Seoul, I did not manage to convince any of them to reopen the investigation on Park, all of them scared, telling me that this Park is extremely powerful and connected.
However, I found an independent investigative journalist who understood what I wanted and I started work. I won’t stop telling you how strong I am or not, in short, in two weeks, I published in Seoul, together with and with the help of that journalist, some documents and revelations so strong, that the national prosecutor’s office was obviously forced to reopen the criminal file .
I never told Vizer, but then I was about to be arrested by Park’s police buddies. However, I had the flair to leave the hotel a day earlier and I slept in the airport hidden in a corner, getting to the plane in time, like in those trick movies, when the police arrives a little later, but the horse had left.
In September 2007, Park resigned. Immediately, Vizer was elected president of the IJF.
I can now say that his mandate and his entry into the big world of global sports is largely due to me. Don’t worry, I haven’t received any reward over the years, on the contrary, after 2017, I was no longer eligible for family or sports events that before it was alright for me to participate. I don’t have an explanation to this day, especially since I was also present and active at the time of Vizer’s revolt in 2015, when he turned the entire IOC on its head, accusing the “counts” of the Olympic committee of having seized the positions for life and that they don’t want to leave power anymore.
What a hero Vizer was to me then! The planet gone mad! CNN, BBC, NBC, FOX, The Guardian, New York Times, Washington Post, Le Monde, Bild, everyone praised the incredible truths spoken by Vizer about the martyrs who had arrested the idea of Olympism, of competition in sportsmanship!
But Marius Vizer is a hero or a friend only when he has an interest.
The sudden and public revolt is the effect of his revelation that Thomas Bach, the head of the supreme Olympic forum, had no intention of ever granting Vizer the status of an IOC member, that is, entry into the thin elite of world leaders (it is no less true that this refusal is an abuse, because the IJF is the federation of an Olympic sport that has the right to this honor by default).
In all these years, Vizer has also become one of “them”. He surpassed any longevity record of a president in the history of the IJF. Vizer has been at the helm of the IJF for 16 years and is entering his 17th, much longer than Charles Palmer with 14 years and Yong Sung Park with 12 years.
Sure, Vizer forgot what he said in 2007 or 2015 about the counts who don’t want to let go of power. Now, he’s like them, a grumpy old man who likes his VVIP status and loves to display the overly masonic morgue of a guy who now casually hangs out with the head of the CIO, his former opponent.
Vizer’s mind is so politicized, that he made a shitty gesture when he rejected Vladimir Putin, his friend and his global benefactor. When during the conflict in Ukraine Vizer conformed to the international political wave of ostracizing Putin he activated the suspension of the Russian president from any positions held in the IJF.
He should not have done it, but to remain consistent with his principle that politics has nothing to influence sport. When things were to his advantage, Vizer always applied this principle, intervening heroically in harsh conflicts between Arabs and Jews, and defending sports and athletes from political messes. Ditto with Kosovo, when an ostracized athlete was legitimized by his presence. But his gestures, otherwise wonderful, were meant to strengthen his image.
When Putin became a “liability” for Vizer, Vizer turned himself into a Judas.
Marius Vizer’s “true” friends are only those who “produce” him money or advantages. Vizer’s true homeland is the one where he can have relational advantages.
That’s why Vizer took revenge on Romania, his native country. Apart from a friend who is a criminal and a thief, namely Cristi Borcea, with whom he still does business, Vizer only has former acquaintances like me or Gusa, alas, poor us, some paupers who only have priceless things for Marius the martyred who masonified his own cult: friendship, memories, loyalty, character.
How shameful it is to see Vizer using his power as president of the IJF against Romania and against a friend, Cozmin Gusa, whom he initially supported to become president of the RJF!
But how inevitable this immoral route was for someone like Vizer, isolated between walls of money and lacking sincere friendship, protected from criticism and strangled by the scruff of Brioni or Loro Piana clothes!
From this point of view, I am proud of my cropped jeans and Cozmin Gusa’s modest sports hoodie.
Marius, for Christmas, I would tell you that it’s time, even at 65 years old tomorrow, to leave the ultra-rich cave and finally watch the wonderful story of the Grinch. You might think that I’m just telling you some parables about the value of friendship versus useless gifts, or about the fact that you shouldn’t hurt when you’re hurt, or about the incredible magic that people can always change for the better.
But that’s not why I want to ask you to watch the Grinch movie.
But because I think it’s important to become a child again, even if just for a moment. You are allowed!
Merry Christmas!
