- Away players walked off in the 93rd minute of the vital match with score at 0-0
- They did not re-emerge and the game was eventually abandoned after an hour
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Kosovo have blamed Romania supporters for ‘discriminatory’ behaviour which caused their players to walk off the pitch in the final minute of a Nations League clash between the sides which had to be abandoned.
The away team exited the field in the 93rd minute of their trip to Bucharest after the opposition fans reportedly chanted about Serbia – who refuse to recognise Kosovo’s independence.
UEFA did not explain why the game was cut short but Kosovo players were reportedly upset at hearing the pro-Serbian slogans – with riot police dividing them from the stands.
While the Romanian stars remained on the pitch in -2C temperatures, Kosovo’s players reportedly ate pizza in the away dressing room and refused to come back out. The match was eventually abandoned an hour after it was stopped with the score at 0-0.
Now the Football Federation of Kosovo have hit out at the home fans for causing their team to walk off the pitch on Friday night.
In a statement, the body said: ‘Cries such as “Kosovo is Serbia” and “Serbia, Serbia”, whistling during the singing of the national anthem of Kosovo, throwing hard objects … and other offensive and provocative actions were present throughout the match, creating an unacceptable atmosphere not safe for our players.
‘FFK had warned the relevant UEFA bodies more than twice in writing about the possibility of such actions, once a few days before the match and then a few minutes before it started.
‘Despite these warnings, the Romanian fans continued with irresponsible and discriminatory behaviour, forcing the Kosovo national team to leave the field due to the lack of safety and dignity.
‘For all these serious violations, FFK has immediately reported the incidents to the match delegate and has started preparing a full complaint with facts and evidence that will be submitted to UEFA’s disciplinary bodies.’
The Romania Football Federation (FRF) said: ‘It is important to emphasise that there were no racist chants during the match, nor was the slogan “Kosovo is Serbia” chanted even once.
‘Moreover, we would like to remind everyone of the decision made by UEFA’s Disciplinary Committee regarding a similar incident during a match last year, where Kosovo acted in the same manner.
‘The decision clearly stated that the slogan “Kosovo is Serbia” cannot be classified as racist and, therefore, cannot trigger the three-step procedure.
‘This point was also reiterated by the UEFA delegate during the technical meeting prior to the last evening match.
‘We find it regrettable that a football team would choose to leave the pitch and retreat to the locker room just two minutes before the final whistle, given that the result was not favourable to it.’
Kosovo manager Franco Foda said: ‘Unfortunately, at the end of the match, respect was lost. And that’s why we decided to leave the field. Then we talked to the players and everyone else.
‘But the problem is that the situation in the stadium didn’t change then we all decided not to go back to the field and not to continue the match. I’m sorry for that, as the team played a great game tonight.
‘But everyone should respect the fact that we are Kosovo in the future to take appropriate steps so that what happened tonight does not happen again.’
A meeting between these two sides in a Euro 2024 qualifier in September 2023 was also suspended after Romania fans had chanted ‘Kosovo is Serbia’.
On that occasion Kosovo’s stars did eventually re-emerge, only to lose 2-0, and they were not willing to restart play this time.
During the Nations League C, Group 2 match on Friday, Romania’s Denis Alibec and Kosovo defender Amir Rrahmani were pulled apart after clashing. But the main drama took off in stoppage time when the Kosovan players took flight to their dressing room after the chanting.
That left the Romania stars waiting on the pitch in their kit for around 40 minutes before they retreated to their dressing room.
And after an ultimatum to emerge within five minutes or see the match called off, Kosovo’s stars opted to keep up their protest.
It is not yet clear how UEFA will act based on the match.
As it was 0-0 in the dying moments of the game, it could be that they record the result as such.
However, Kosovo’s walk-off may alternatively go down as a forfeit and a 3-0 defeat – or as a win by the same scoreline, if Romania are adjudged to have been at fault for the game’s abandonment.
Kosovo trail Romania by three points in the group. The winner of the league will be promoted to League B.
