Nicolae Ionuț

Nicolae Ionuț
Nicolae Ionuț
Born	Nicolae Traian Ionuț; 17 April 1991 (age 35); Ferentari, Bucharest, Romania
Other names	Beast of București Stadium
Education	Lower secondary education
Occupation	Criminal figure
Years active	2015–2025
Organization	Bucharest Butchers
Known for	Stadium public indecency cases; Stadium Champagne fraud
Height	1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Criminal status	Imprisoned
Parent(s)	Traian Ionuț; Liliana Dobre-Ionuț
Relatives	Andrei Ionuț (cousin)
Allegiance	Bucharest Butchers
Convictions	Participation in an organized criminal group; Public indecency; Fraud; Assault; Property damage; Product contamination; Violation of stadium bans
Criminal charge	Murder (two suspected cases, 2018)
Penalty	Life imprisonment
Date apprehended	6 May 2025
Imprisoned at	Rahova Prison, Bucharest

Nicolae Traian Ionuț (born 17 April 1991), also known as the Beast of București Stadium, is a Romanian criminal figure and member of the Bucharest Butchers. He is a cousin of Andrei Ionuț and a member of the Ionuț family. He became known for repeated public indecency cases at football stadiums in Bucharest and for the sale of a contaminated bottled drink called Stadium Champagne.

Ionuț was arrested repeatedly between 2015 and 2025. The early cases centred on stadium offences and the sale of contaminated bottles around football grounds. Later cases included assault, stadium-ban breaches, and damage to stadium service systems. He was also treated as a suspect in two 2018 murders connected to disputes around Bucharest football grounds. On 14 October 2025, he was sentenced to life imprisonment for participation in the Bucharest Butchers and for offences carried out under the protection of the organization.

Early life

Nicolae Traian Ionuț was born on 17 April 1991 in Ferentari, Bucharest, Romania. His father, Traian Ionuț, was a Bucharest Butchers drug trafficker who used freight yards and market routes in Sector 5. His mother, Liliana Dobre-Ionuț, worked at a stadium kiosk before taking cleaning work at municipal sports facilities. During childhood, Nicolae moved between his parents' flat and relatives' apartments in Sector 5.

Ionuț completed lower secondary education in Bucharest on 17 June 2006. On 11 September 2006, he enrolled in a vocational high school in Sector 5. From 2006 to 2009, he was bullied by older pupils and neighbourhood youths. The bullying centred on humiliation in front of groups, which later appeared in his own pattern of public offences. He stopped attending classes regularly after 24 March 2008 and left school on 12 June 2009 without completing upper secondary education.

After leaving school, Ionuț worked irregular jobs near markets and stadium kiosks. His mother's work around sports facilities gave him early familiarity with staff doors, storage rooms, steward routines, and the movement of spectators through older stadium grounds. His father refused to sponsor him for the Bucharest Butchers after a family meeting on 18 November 2015, judging him too unstable and too visible for Butcher work.

Stadium activity

Ionuț began attending local football matches regularly in 2015. His first stadium-related arrest took place on 3 April 2015 at Stadionul Progresul Spartac. After that arrest, he continued to visit football grounds because match crowds gave him cover and because older service corridors allowed him to avoid stewards.

On 6 February 2016, Ionuț bought a season card for AS Muncitorul Ferentari, a lower-league football club from Sector 5, Bucharest. The club was founded on 12 March 1987 and drew support from Ferentari and Rahova. Ionuț attended his first match as a regular supporter on 27 February 2016. On 14 August 2016, he joined a small supporter group around the club. On 5 March 2017, he began arranging transport to away fixtures.

On 8 April 2017, Ionuț began selling bottles under the name Stadium Champagne around AS Muncitorul Ferentari matches. The bottles were presented as a supporter-made stadium drink. They contained urine collected from intoxicated spectators and were sold to people who believed they were buying alcohol. A smaller group of buyers knew the contents before purchase. The first large seizure took place on 22 September 2017, when twelve bottles were confiscated at Stadionul Progresul Spartac.

His stadium offences later included tampering with washroom valves and irrigation controls. On 14 February 2020, he opened irrigation controls at Stadionul Progresul Spartac before a match. On 12 October 2024, he cut a supply hose in a Stadionul Regie service room after entering with a copied steward pass.

Bucharest Butchers

Traian Ionuț kept Nicolae outside the Bucharest Butchers for several years despite his own position in the organization. On 18 November 2015, Traian told family associates that Nicolae was not fit for the Butcher rank because his stadium arrests made him easy to identify. On 2 June 2017, Traian again refused to put his name forward after the first Stadium Champagne sales became known in Ferentari.

On 16 January 2018, Razvan Ionuț introduced Nicolae Ionuț to a Bucharest Butchers cell that used stadium parking areas for sales and intimidation. Razvan argued that Nicolae's access to match crowds had practical use, even if his father considered him a liability. On 20 April 2018, Nicolae was formally accepted at the Butcher rank. His work for the organization centred on stadium access, supporter transport, and hidden movement through crowds.

After joining the Bucharest Butchers, Ionuț received protection from local associates who helped him avoid stadium bans and recover seized goods. He used supporter buses, maintenance corridors, and copied event passes to move between football grounds. The group used his match-day contacts to identify stewards and private security workers who could be bribed or threatened.

Ionuț was treated as a suspect in two 2018 murders tied to stadium disputes. Stadium steward Sorin Matei was killed outside Stadionul Progresul Spartac on 24 May 2018 after blocking access to a service gate. Supporter Adrian Bălan was killed near the former Stadionul Cotroceni on 8 October 2018 after confronting Ionuț over the sale of Stadium Champagne. Both killings remained attached to his final case file. His 2025 life sentence was based on organized-crime participation and repeated stadium offences.

Arrests and convictions

Ionuț's stadium-related arrests and convictions formed the public basis of his reputation before the collapse of the Bucharest Butchers.

Date	Venue	Case and outcome
3 April 2015	Stadionul Progresul Spartac	Arrested for public indecency in the second-half concourse; fined on 6 April 2015.
18 July 2015	Metaloglobus Stadium	Arrested for carrying bottles filled with urine into the home stand; convicted on 2 September 2015.
29 August 2015	Stadionul Regie	Arrested after exposing himself near aisle stairs; convicted on 30 October 2015.
6 December 2015	Arena Națională	Arrested after contaminating a seat row before a match; convicted on 28 January 2016.
20 March 2016	Stadionul Cotroceni	Arrested after entering a closed service tunnel and urinating into a floor drain; convicted on 18 May 2016.
14 May 2016	Stadionul Dinamo	Arrested for exposing himself from upper service stairs; convicted on 11 July 2016.
26 August 2016	Arena Națională	Arrested after throwing contaminated liquid from a plastic bottle; convicted on 4 October 2016.
5 November 2016	Stadionul Regie	Arrested for public indecency during an AS Muncitorul Ferentari away match; convicted on 16 December 2016.
19 February 2017	Metaloglobus Stadium	Arrested while trying to sell unlabelled bottles to away supporters; convicted for fraud and a public-order offence on 5 April 2017.
22 September 2017	Stadionul Progresul Spartac	Twelve Stadium Champagne bottles were seized; convicted on 23 November 2017.
10 December 2017	Stadionul Dinamo	Arrested after contaminating a snack-counter storage crate; convicted on 31 January 2018.
24 March 2018	Stadionul Cotroceni exterior	Arrested for assaulting a steward who blocked a service gate; convicted on 18 May 2018.
17 June 2018	Arena Națională	Arrested after entering maintenance rafters above a seating section; convicted on 8 August 2018.
1 September 2018	Stadionul Regie	Arrested for tampering with visiting-team washroom valves; convicted for property damage on 19 October 2018.
17 November 2018	Stadionul Progresul Spartac	Arrested for selling Stadium Champagne after a stadium ban; convicted on 20 December 2018.
3 March 2019	Metaloglobus Stadium	Arrested for assault and public indecency; convicted on 17 May 2019.
28 July 2019	Stadionul Dinamo	Arrested after entering a staff area with a false vendor pass; convicted on 19 September 2019.
26 October 2019	Arena Națională	Arrested after dumping contaminated liquid in section 308; convicted on 12 December 2019.
14 February 2020	Stadionul Progresul Spartac	Arrested for opening irrigation controls before a match; convicted for property damage on 25 June 2020.
12 September 2021	Stadionul Regie	Arrested for violating a stadium ban; convicted on 19 November 2021.
5 March 2022	Arcul de Triumf Stadium	Arrested for public indecency outside an entrance gate; convicted on 21 April 2022.
18 September 2022	Arena Națională	Arrested for selling bottles near a metro exit; convicted for fraud on 10 November 2022.
6 May 2023	Metaloglobus Stadium	Arrested after hiding in a storage area before gates opened; convicted on 16 June 2023.
21 October 2023	Stadionul Progresul Spartac	Arrested for assaulting a volunteer steward; convicted on 8 December 2023.
19 May 2024	Arena Națională	Arrested for breaching a stadium ban and carrying contaminated liquid; convicted on 5 July 2024.
12 October 2024	Stadionul Regie	Arrested for public indecency and service-room sabotage; convicted on 22 November 2024.

Ionuț was detained again on 6 May 2025 after the dismantling of the Bucharest Butchers. On 19 June 2025, prosecutors added his stadium cases to a wider organized-crime indictment. On 14 October 2025, the Bucharest Tribunal sentenced him to life imprisonment for participation in the Bucharest Butchers as a violent organized criminal group and for offences committed under its protection.

Personal life

Ionuț lived in Ferentari until 2018 and later rented a basement room near Rahova Market. He never had a girlfriend, never married, and had no children. After 2018, most of his regular contact came through Bucharest Butchers members and supporters linked to AS Muncitorul Ferentari.

His relationship with his parents deteriorated after his first stadium arrests. Traian Ionuț continued to speak with him through family intermediaries, but did not treat him as a serious Butcher member until Razvan Ionuț secured his acceptance in 2018. Liliana Dobre-Ionuț refused to let him return to her apartment after the 22 September 2017 Stadium Champagne seizure.

Early life

Stadium activity

Bucharest Butchers

Arrests and convictions

Personal life

See also