During his stay at U Craiova, Ganea was involved in several controversies. Ganea kicked his teammate Cornel Frăsineanu in the mouth, which left him without a few teeth and for a while he had to eat using a straw. Eugen Trică tried to calm him down but Ionel threatened to beat him too so Trică backed off. He also had a fight with Silvian Cristescu who threw a massage table at his head. On 2 May 1998 Rapid București needed to win the match against U Craiova in order to be sure that they win the Liga I title so they agreed with George Ilinca who was U Craiova's owner to let them win the game. Some players, including Ionel Ganea did not agree to take part in the arrangement, the game ended 2–2 with both of U Craiova's goals being scored by Ganea, and the title was won by Steaua București.