:The Football Federation of Kosovo (FFK) said it had repeatedly warned European football’s governing body UEFA about possible provocations by Romanian fans ahead of Friday’s Nations League match, which was abandoned when Kosovo players abandoned the match.

The match between Group C2 leaders Romania and second-placed Kosovo in Bucharest was abandoned in extra time when the visiting players left the field with the score 0-0 after hearing pro-Serbian chants from the home fans.

The match was initially postponed and abandoned an hour later when the Kosovo team refused to return to the field. UEFA had said it would provide “further information in due course”.

“Cries such as ‘Kosovo is Serbia’ and ‘Serbia is Serbia’, whistling during the Kosovo national anthem, throwing of hard objects… and other aggressive and provocative actions were present throughout the match, creating an unacceptable atmosphere throughout the match. What FFK did “It is safe for our players,” he said in the statement.

“FFK had warned the relevant UEFA bodies in writing about the possibility of such actions more than twice, once a few days before the match and the other a few minutes before the start of the match.

“Despite these warnings, Romanian fans continued their irresponsible and discriminatory behavior, forcing the Kosovo national team to leave the field due to lack of safety and dignity.”

FFK also alleged that a Romanian official “threatened and assaulted” a Kosovo player in the corridors of the stadium.

“For all these serious violations, FFK immediately reported the incidents to the match delegate and began preparing a full complaint with facts and evidence to be presented to UEFA’s disciplinary committees,” the statement said.

Reuters has contacted UEFA for comment.

The Romanian Football Federation (FRF) stated that it was disappointed with the behavior of the Kosovo delegation and the players, saying that the accusations were unfounded and their actions were planned in advance.

Kosovo players were seen making an eagle gesture with their hands clasped towards the Romanian fans as they left the field, which angered the fans.

The move imitates the eagle on Albania’s national flag and could fuel tensions between Serbian nationalists and ethnic Albanians, who make up the vast majority of Kosovo’s population.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 and is recognized by more than 100 countries, but not by Romania.

‘NO RACIST TENDERS’

“It is important to emphasize that there were no racist chants during the match and the slogan ‘Kosovo is Serbia’ was not chanted even once,” FRF said. he said.

“We would also like to remind you of the decision taken by the UEFA Disciplinary Committee regarding a similar incident in the match last year in which Kosovo behaved in the same way.

“The decision clearly stated that the slogan ‘Kosovo is Serbia’ cannot be classified as racist and therefore cannot trigger the three-stage procedure.”

The three-step procedure involves the referee requesting a public announcement to stop racist behavior, postponing the match until it is stopped and, in some scenarios, canceling the match altogether.

“This point was reiterated by the UEFA delegate during the technical meeting before the final evening match,” the FRF added.

“We find it regrettable that a football team chose to leave the field and retire to the dressing room just two minutes before the final whistle, given that the result was not positive.”

After four matches, Kosovo is three points behind Romania, which has 12 points, and will be promoted to League B if they finish top.

FRF was fined by UEFA last year for shouting pro-Serbian slogans during the Euro 2024 qualifiers between the countries at the National Arena and for fans hanging a banner saying “Kosovo is Serbia”.

Kosovo was also fined last month for disrupting a match between the two teams in September when fans lit torches, entered the field and whistled during the Romanian national anthem.