Steaua's Becali Officially Appointed World's Craziest Owner

The exploits of Steaua Bucharest should be no surprise to the five or so of you that read Das FanHaus on a regular basis. Their flare-lighting, pitch burning, mob ruling fans warm the cockles of our blog parts, but it seems that such insanity starts at the top at the Romanian side. London's Observer commends billionaire owner Gigi Becali for being clearly the most nutter of all football patriarchs, a club that includes Roman Abramovich and various other shady oligarchs.

In 2004, having become a billionaire, Becali founded the Christian Democrat party New Generation, of which he is the leader and presidential candidate. A right-wing Christian, he has said he will create special neighbourhoods where homosexuals can live so that they do not disturb the rest of the population. He has a strong xenophobic streak and seems to hate Hungarians, having recently said that the top-flight team Cluj should not be allowed to play in the Romanian league because they have an owner with Hungarian background. Becali believes he has a good chance to become president in the elections in 2009, a prospect that, according to one journalist, 'really frightens some people'.

It wouldn't surprise us in the least if once elected, Becali threatened execution to all those who oppose Steaua. At the very least, we would expect some kid of "no poofters" rule to be enforced at Ghencea Stadium. You know, when it isn't already flaming. Actually, what is really frightening is the article's claim that Gigi commissioned a painter to recreate the Last Supper depicting the owner as Jesus and his players as his disciples. If we were the player slotted to be Judas, we'd flee the country.