Romania’s home match against Kosovo in the Nations League was abandoned after the away team refused to complete the fixture following chants from the home fans.
Friday’s match in Bucharest was goalless in second-half stoppage time as the Kosovo players walked off the pitch and did not return.
After a clash between the teams on the pitch, audible chants of “Serbia, Serbia, Serbia” could be heard from video footage posted on social media, prompting the Kosovan players to walk off.
The Kosovan Football Federation (FFK) alleged in a statement that a “Kosovo is Serbia” chant could also be heard during the match. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 and is formally recognised by 101 countries, but not by Romania or Serbia.
Kosovo player Lumbardh Dellova also made an eagle gesture to the Romania fans. The gesture, which is made with crossed hands, represents the flag of Greater Albania and has been a source of tension between Albanians and Serbs ever since the break-up of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s. Albania is a key ally and neighbour of Kosovo, with many Albanians living in Kosovo where Albanian is the national language.
Kosovo’s Dellova made the eagle gesture in the direction of the Romania fans after the chants (Vasile Mihai-Antonio/Getty Images)
The FFK said that its players abandoned the match “due to the lack of safety and dignity” after “continuous racist and anti-Kosovo chants by the Romanian fans, who repeated racist and provocative behaviour… in complete violation of UEFA regulations and principles”. It further alleged that the Kosovan anthem was booed ahead of kick-off, with objects also thrown onto the pitch during the game and “other offensive and provocative actions”.
The FFK also alleged that after the game, a Romanian official “intervened in the press conference of the Kosovo national team, shooing away the journalists” and then “threatened and assaulted a Kosovo player in the corridors of the stadium”. It says it has reported the alleged incidents to the UEFA match delegate and added that it warned European football’s governing body twice ahead of the game about the possibility of trouble.
UEFA will assess the reports from the match delegate before taking any further steps. The Romania Football Federation (FRF) has been approached for comment regarding the FFK’s allegations.
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An hour after the game was halted, the officials confirmed that the match had been abandoned and the remaining minutes would not be played.
In September 2023, a Euro 2024 qualifier between Romania and Kosovo was suspended for 45 minutes after supporters in the Romania end displayed a banner reading “Kosovo is Serbia” and fans chanted the same thing. Romania won the match 2-0 but were fined and ordered to play their next home match behind closed doors.
Romania fans previously held up a banner saying ‘Kosovo is Serbian’ during a 2024 European Championship qualification match in September 2023 (Daniel Mihailescu/AFP via Getty Images)
Romania are on course to win Nations League C Group 2 having won their opening four matches, which would guarantee their promotion into League B of the Nations League.
Kosovo are second in the group and started Friday’s fixture with nine points from their four games, with a draw in this match securing their place in a promotion play-off game.
The issue of Kosovo’s independence from Serbia sparked a 1998-99 war in which at least 13,000 people died. Serbia launched a crackdown on a separatist rebellion by the area’s ethnic Albanian population, which led to NATO bombing Serbia in 1999 to bring a conclusion to the war.
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(Top photo: Daniel Mihailescu/AFP via Getty Images)
