The qualifying match for the 2024 European Championship between Romania and Kosovo in Bucharest experienced an hour-long interruption on Tuesday due to the actions of home fans who unfurled a banner reading “Kosovo is Serbia” and engaged in discriminatory behavior.
UEFA, the governing body for European football, officially announced that the match had been suspended “due to discriminatory behavior and would remain so until further notice”.
The disruption occurred approximately 17 minutes into the game at Bucharest’s National Arena. French referee Willy Delajod made the decision to halt the match after a banner displaying the message was unfurled behind one of the goals, accompanied by nationalist chants from Romanian supporters.
In response to the hostile atmosphere, the Kosovo players refused to continue playing under such conditions, prompting the referee to instruct both national teams to return to their respective dressing rooms.
After a 50-minute delay, the match resumed, with the UEFA delegate warning the organizers to prevent any recurrence of discriminatory chants or behavior.
Despite Kosovo playing with only 10 players for most of the match, following striker Vedat Muriqi’s expulsion due to two yellow cards in the first half, they ultimately lost 2-0. This outcome extinguished Kosovo’s hopes of participating in a major international football tournament for the first time in the history of their national team. Kosovo was granted membership in both UEFA and FIFA in 2016.
Reacting to the incident on Facebook, Hajrulla Çeku, Kosovo’s Minister of Culture, Youth, and Sports, lauded the professionalism and determination of the Kosovo players and emphasized that “the dignity of Kosovo as a state is of paramount importance, rising above any provocations”.
In response to the provocative behavior and politically charged messages displayed during the match, the Romanian Football Federation issued a statement condemning revisionism and distancing itself from the actions of a group of fans responsible for the match interruption. The Federation reiterated its commitment to the principle that sports should remain apolitical.
It’s worth noting that Romania is one of five European Union countries – alongside Spain, Cyprus, Greece, and Slovakia – that do not officially recognize Kosovo’s independence.
Kosovo had been striving for its first victory in these qualifiers for the forthcoming summer tournament in Germany, but a challenging start to the campaign, including one loss and four draws in the first five matches, had left them at the bottom of Group I with only four points. They currently trail the second-to-last position, which secures a spot in Euro 2024, held by Romania, by a significant eight-point margin. Switzerland is the group leader.
In November, Romania’s Ministry of Sports indicated that the Romanian Football Federation had sought clarification from the government regarding the conditions under which the match against Kosovo could proceed.
Their proposed solution involved the establishment of a working group comprising the Ministry of Sports, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the Romanian Football Federation, as they believed the match against Kosovo raised “specific international context concerns”.
In previous instances, Kosovo has also faced national teams that do not recognize its independence. Greece and Cyprus did not raise objections, while a match against Ukraine was relocated to Poland.
Last year, the Spanish Football Federation initially indicated it would not permit the Kosovo team to play with their national flag, but the match eventually proceeded without issues.
UEFA, as the governing body of European football, stressed that if Romania were to refuse to play, the rules outlined in the current regulations would be enforced. Under these rules, any team refusing to participate would forfeit the match with a 3-0 result and risk losing its spot in Euro 2024.
