Soccer

Uefa punishes Kosovo with 3-0 defeat for Nations League walk-off over pro-Serbia chants

Game in Bucharest was abandoned in stoppage-time after the Kosovo players left the field when they said they heard pro-Serbia chanting from home fans

Kosovo's players leave the pitch during stoppage-time of the Uefa Nations League match against Romania in Bucharest. Photograph: Daniel Mihailescu/AFP via Getty Images
Kosovo's players leave the pitch during stoppage-time of the Uefa Nations League match against Romania in Bucharest. Photograph: Daniel Mihailescu/AFP via Getty Images
Wed Nov 20 2024 - 17:02

Uefa has handed Kosovo a 3-0 defeat for walking off the field during Friday night’s Nations League tie against Romania in Bucharest, which was abandoned after they elected not to return.

Kosovo left the pitch during second-half stoppage time upon hearing chants of “Serbia” from the home crowd. The match was suspended and, when it was clear they would refuse to resume, proceedings were drawn to a halt. Uefa has judged that they effectively forfeited the game in a ruling that will attract significant attention given issues around Serbia-related chanting in European stadiums.

Although Romania were given a win that ensured a 100 per cent record in their Group C2 campaign, they were also dealt fines totalling about €128,000. More damagingly, they will play their next home match behind closed doors after Uefa found their fans guilty of xenophobic chants against Hungary during the fixture. A €30,000 fine was imposed for transmitting pro-Serbia messages.

Kosovo’s decision to walk off is understood to have been led by their team, rather than being dictated by the Football Federation of Kosovo (FFK). After the match, the FFK condemned “racist provocations and behaviour” from the crowd – alleging “Kosovo is Serbia” chants were also among those heard – and said it had warned Uefa such occurrences were possible. The FFK filed a complaint to Uefa and its president, Agim Ademi, suggested any punishment could be appealed against at the court of arbitration for sport, although the Guardian understands that is by no means certain.

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The Romanian Football Federation had accused Kosovo of a premeditated decision to leave the pitch and said visiting players had acted provocatively. Romania’s other fines were handed down for a series of further crowd offences including throwing of objects, lighting of fireworks, use of a laser pointer, causing a disturbance during the national anthems and blocking public passageways. Romania were also warned for “the improper conduct of its team”, while Kosovo were fined €6,000 for the same reason.

Romania were fined by Uefa last year over pro-Serbia chanting and the display of a banner reading “Kosovo is Serbia” by supporters during a meeting of the sides at the same venue in a Euro 2024 qualifier. Uefa fined Kosovo €61,000 last month for fans’ misconduct during their Nations League tie against Romania in Pristina. Uefa operates a three-step procedure for the potential abandonment of games marred by racism but this does not apply to chants that may be deemed political in nature. It is a complex minefield that football shows little sign of being able to navigate effectively. Euro 2024 was peppered with several incidents involving Balkan nations and pro-Serbia chanting, generally in the context of its claim to sovereignty over Kosovo, has become a persistent problem in parts of the continent. – Guardian

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