Former Wycombe Wanderers goalkeeper Yves Ma-Kalambay has revealed the horrific scenes he experienced when playing for a club in Romania which saw one of his teammates get shot.

The Belgian and Congolese international was on the books at Oțelul Galați for the 2014/15 season, but only played two games for the outfit before he wanted to have his contract terminated due to the horrendous off-the-field tensions surrounding the club.

The 36-year-old, who played 11 times for the Chairboys between 2017 and 2019, explained that there was an ‘influence’ coming from outside of the team that dictated the outcome of matches for financial gain.

And if players were to go against these orders, they faced violent consequences.

Yves Ma-Kalambay was at Wycombe for two seasons between 2017 and 2019 (screen grab from Athletes Stances YouTube channel)

Yves Ma-Kalambay was at Wycombe for two seasons between 2017 and 2019 (screen grab from Athlete's Stance's YouTube channel)

The goalkeeper signed for the club after a spell with Royal Antwerp in his native Belgium left him ‘depressed’.

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He stated that the deal he was given to join Oțelul Galați was ‘unbelievable’, and that the first few weeks with the team, which saw them train in Antalya, Turkey, were ‘amazing.’

However, the 6ft 6in keeper noticed that ‘something was going on’ at the club once they returned to Romania.

Speaking in a 16-minute video on the Athlete's Stance’s YouTube channel which was published in December 2019, the ex-Chelsea keeper said: “Before a game, I saw four guys enter the dressing room.

“They didn’t enter like they wanted signatures or people that came for a tour, they entered the changing room like they entered their own living room, with a lot of confidence, comfort, they took some fruit, some drinks, and this was weird to me because I had not seen them before.

“They were shouting in Romanian, and I was not fluent in Romanian, so I just didn’t really pay attention to what they were saying.

“I was just focusing on trying to get myself ready for the game, but after they finished shouting at the captain, they turned towards me and they said that I needed to concede three goals before half-time.

“We were playing a team that, and I’m not being disrespectful, probably could not score three goals before half-time, and I don’t like to be told what to do, so I didn’t really pay attention and I just went to play my half.

“We were winning 1-0 at half-time and they came back, entered the changing room, and went straight to me.

“They surrounded me, I was sitting in my corner, they were shouting, stomping, making big gestures, and pointed their hands towards me.

“One of them grabbed my shoulders, I brushed him off as I’m not going to let anyone touch me, and then one of them went to the captain, and told him that they needed to tell me that I was not in my country anymore, that they owned me and that I needed to do what they were telling me to do.

Bucks Free Press: Adebayo Akinfenwa also spoke in the 16-minute video (screengrab from Athlete's Stance's YouTube channel)Adebayo Akinfenwa also spoke in the 16-minute video (screengrab from Athlete's Stance's YouTube channel)

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“Otherwise, I might not go home.”

“I got scared because I thought ‘if they are capable of threatening me like that in front of people, if I’m on my own in the changing room, what if they came back?’"

Ma-Kalambay played the rest of the match but admitted that he was making errors as his mind 'wasn't right’ following the incident during the interval.

He would go on to make one more appearance before being dropped from the team.

Despite being an Oțelul Galați player for just a few weeks, he no longer wanted to represent the club but kept this to himself.

And it was during this period that he witnessed a terrifying attack on one of his teammates which left him in a state of shock.

The goalkeeper continued: “Four or five games later, they came back, and they asked one of the strikers to not score any goals.

“I did not know the extent of what these people were capable of doing.

“The first-half went and our striker scored, but nobody celebrated on the pitch.

“We weren’t the biggest of teams so a goal being scored is an occasion for the players to rejoice.

“At half-time, I remember being by the [changing room] door and feeling a massive slam on my back.

“I had the door smash into me because the same people, but this time there were six of them, went straight into the dressing room.

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“The manager stopped talking, ran out, and locked the door.

“Next to me was one of the people and he smelt bad.

"He had a big leather jacket, he was as tall as me with some big boots.

“They went straight to the striker, and I could see that they were very, very angry so I sensed the danger.

“They had a massive argument with that player and next thing you know, you heard a gunshot.

“I never heard one in real life, and the noise could make you deaf.

“Worse than that was the scream which made it more intense.

“There was blood, there was screaming, and they [the team] went out and played the second half.

“The echoes were that a massive bet had been lost because of his goal and, that he didn’t want to break the rules.

“They acted on their words and left.”

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Desperate to leave the club, the goalkeeper asked for his contract to be terminated without getting paid, but he was unable to do so as Oțelul Galați entered administration.

The club had also kept hold of his passport when he first joined, making him unable to leave the country.

After it became known that Ma-Kalambay was planning to depart the club, he noticed outside of the apartment he was staying in, a parked car with several people watching him in case he left the vicinity.

On the shooting, he continued: “I was in shock, and I know the other foreign players were shocked too.

“But to the others, this was imprinted in them.

“I was feeling vulnerable.”

Ma-Kalambay contacted the authorities but to no avail, and after four weeks of uncertainty, the goalkeeper was able to retrieve his passport, along with his earnings but was advised by someone connected to the club to leave the country in a hurry.

The goalkeeper did just that, departing Romania without a charged phone and a suitcase full of his earnings.

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He eventually fled to the United Kingdom, a country he had spent most of his career in, from Romania via bus.

The keeper arrived in London before spending around £300 to £400 on a cab ride to an address he knew.

Speaking about his time in Romania, he added: “You went out as if nothing had happened.

“All I wanted to do was leave and not play football.

“Everyone acted normal.”

Ma-Kalambay would be out of the game for two years before he joined Wycombe Wanderers in the autumn of 2017.

He would leave the club in 2019, achieving promotion with the Chairboys in 2018.

Despite leaving Wycombe three years ago, the goalkeeper still visits Adams Park to this day.

He was present at the club's 2-0 home win over Milton Keynes in the League One play-off semi-final first leg on May 5, where he posed for pictures, signed autographs, and had conversations with supporters.