November 16, (THEWILL) – A Nations League football match between Romania and Kosovo ended prematurely on Friday night when visiting Kosovo players left the field following discriminatory chants from Romanian supporters.
The incident occurred during stoppage time at Bucharest’s National Arena.
The match, which remained goalless until its abandonment in the 93rd minute, reached its breaking point during an interaction between Kosovo captain Amir Rrahmani and Romanian forward Denis Alibec.
Home supporters began chanting “Serbia! Serbia!”, prompting the Kosovo team to exit the pitch immediately.
UEFA officials initially suspended the match, but it was subsequently abandoned when the Kosovo squad refused to return.
This marks the second significant incident between these teams, following UEFA’s previous financial penalty against Romania’s football federation for similar behaviour during a Euro 2024 qualifier at the same venue.
“This is too much.
“Everyone must know that Kosovo is Kosovo, or Kosovo is Albania. That’s it. This is where it ends,”
Rrahmani stated during the post-match press conference.
The political sensitivity stems from Kosovo’s 2008 declaration of independence from Serbia, which more than 100 nations recognise, though Romania does not.
The tension between these teams extends beyond this match, with the Football Federation of Kosovo receiving a €61,000 fine from UEFA in October 2024 for incidents during their September Nations League fixture against Romania in Pristina.
UEFA officials indicated they would provide additional information regarding this latest occurrence in due course.
