Kosovo has accused Romania fans of ‘discriminatory’ behavior which led to their players being pulled off the field in the final minute of a Nations League match between the sides that had to be abandoned.

The visiting team left the field in the 93rd minute of their trip to Bucharest after opposition fans chanted about Serbia refusing to recognize Kosovo’s independence.

UEFA did not explain why the match was abandoned, but it was reported that Kosovo players became angry when they heard pro-Serbian slogans and riot police separated them from the stands.

It was reported that Romanian stars stayed on the field in -2 degree temperature, while Kosovo players ate pizza in the away locker room and refused to go out. The match, which was stopped with a score of 0-0, was abandoned an hour later.

Now the Kosovo Football Federation has reacted harshly to the home fans who caused their team to leave the field on Friday night.

In the statement made by the institution, screams such as “Kosovo is Serbia” and “Serbia, Serbia”, whistling while singing the Kosovo national anthem, throwing hard objects… and other aggressive and provocative actions were present throughout the process. The match creates an unsafe, unacceptable atmosphere for our players.

Kosovo Football Federation blames Romanian fans for their team leaving the field

They claimed fans acted ‘discriminately’ on Friday night

Riot police remove fans from the field for a Nations League C, Group 2 match

‘FFK had warned the relevant UEFA bodies in writing more than twice about the possibility of such actions; one a few days before the match and the other a few minutes before the match kicks off.

‘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.

‘For all these serious infringements, FFK immediately reported the incidents to the match delegate and began preparing a full complaint full of facts and evidence to be presented to UEFA’s disciplinary bodies.’

The Romanian Football Federation (FRF) said: ‘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.

‘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, where Kosovo behaved in the same way.

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

This point was repeated by the UEFA delegate at the technical meeting held before the last evening match.

‘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.’

Kosovo star Lumbardh Dellova signals to Romanian fans before his team leaves

The pitch invader took advantage of the chaos and was chased across the pitch by stewards

Kosovo coach Franco Foda claimed ‘lost respect’ for his players

Kosovo coach Franco Foda said: ‘Unfortunately, respect was lost at the end of the match. So 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 has not changed and we have all decided not to return to the pitch and continue the match. I’m sorry about that, because the team played a great game tonight.

‘But everyone must respect the fact that we are Kosovars in the future to take appropriate steps to prevent what happened tonight from happening again.’

The Euro 2024 qualifying match played between the two sides in September 2023 was also postponed after Romanian fans chanted ‘Kosovo is Serbia’. On this occasion, Kosovo’s stars finally emerged again, but they lost 2-0 and this time did not want to restart the game.

They were separated following a clash between Romanian Denis Alibec and Kosovo defender Amir Rrahmani in their Nations League Group C Group 2 match on Friday. But the real drama started during the stoppage, when the Kosovo players flew to the dressing rooms after chanting the slogans.

This left the Romanian stars waiting on the field with their jerseys on for around 40 minutes before retreating to the dressing rooms.

And after an ultimatum within five minutes or the match being cancelled, Kosovo stars chose to continue their protests.

It is not yet clear how UEFA will react to the match.

Since the score was 0-0 in the last minutes of the match, they may have recorded the result this way.

However, Kosovo’s exit from the game could alternatively result in a forfeit defeat and a 3-0 defeat; or if it is decided that Romania was at fault for abandoning the game, it could result in a win with the same score.

Kosovo is three points behind Romania in the group. The winner of the league will be promoted to League B.