Interrupting the match with Romania, the Federation of Kosovo reveals other serious episodes that occurred after the challenge

2024-11-16 11:40:00, Sport CNA

Interrupting the match with Romania, the Federation of Kosovo reveals other

Romania-Kosovo

The Football Federation of Kosovo has strongly condemned the racist calls against the "Dardana" team in Romania, in the League of Nations match.

Through a reaction on the official website, FFK emphasizes that anti-Kosovo chants, throwing things at "Dardana" players, as well as shouting during the anthem are unacceptable.

The Federation of Kosovo emphasizes that the episodes against Kosovo have continued even after the end of the match by Romanian officials, who interrupted the press conference of "Dardani" coach Franco Foda and captain Amir Rrahmani.

Public statement of the Football Federation of Kosovo

Racism and anti-Kosovo chants in Romania, an attack on football values ??and the dignity of the Kosovo National Team

The Football Federation of Kosovo (FFK) strongly condemns the racist provocations and behavior that occurred during last night's match between Romania and Kosovo in Bucharest, within the UEFA Nations League. The match was abandoned due to continuous racist and anti-Kosovo chants by the Romanian fans, who repeated racist and provocative behavior that seriously harms the spirit of fair play, the values ??of football and is in complete violation of UEFA regulations and principles. -s.

Cries such as "Kosovo is Serbia" and "Serbia, Serbia", whistling during the singing of the national anthem of Kosovo, throwing hard objects into the stadium and other offensive and provocative actions were present throughout the match, creating an unacceptable atmosphere. and 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 behavior, forcing the Kosovo National Team to leave the field due to the lack of safety and dignity.

The match, which up to the moment of interruption had an excellent performance by the Kosovo National Team and a 0:0 result, escalated even further due to the refusal of the fans to stop their racist and provocative chants. Despite the efforts of our coach, Mr. Foda, in order to get the match to be played and eliminate such actions by the Romanian fans, still even during the break the racist behavior continued. In such a situation, the players rightly chose to respect UEFA's anti-racism regulations and defend the dignity of the state of Kosovo, as an equal member of UEFA and FIFA.

Furthermore, after the match, a Romanian official intervened in the press conference of the Kosovo National Team, shooing away the journalists and then, in an unacceptable act, threatened and assaulted a Kosovo player in the corridors of the stadium. This shameful and unacceptable behavior led to the immediate reaction of FFK representatives.

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.

We believe that UEFA will act in accordance with its core values ??to strongly condemn the racist language and other unacceptable actions that occurred during this match.

FFK reaffirms its commitment to protect the dignity of the Kosovo National Team and the values ??of football, but also the principles of UEFA and FIFA for football without politics and respect for 'fair play', as a game that must unite and not divide. Racism and discrimination have no place in sports or in our society./ CNA