Nations League drama as match abandoned after team walk off in protest

The police intervene after the clashes between players of Kosovo and Romanian fans (Image: Getty Images)

The Nations League match between Kosovo and Romania was abandoned on Friday night due to offensive chanting. The Kosovo team walked off the pitch in the 93rd minute after Romanian fans reportedly chanted pro-Serbian slogans, a country that does not recognise Kosovo's independence.

UEFA have yet to confirm why the game was prematurely ended. The match was eventually abandoned an hour later with the score at 0-0, while the Romanian players remained on the pitch in freezing temperatures.

Meanwhile, the Kosovo players ordered pizza into their dressing room after being separated from the fans by riot police. Their manager, Franco Foda, expressed his disappointment.

"Unfortunately, at the end of the match, respect was lost," he said. "And that's why 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 didn't change then we all decided not to go back to the field and not to continue the match.

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Lumbardh Dellova of Kosovo shows a sign to the Romanian fans during their Nations League match (Image: Getty Images)

"I'm sorry for that, as the team played a great game tonight. But everyone should respect the fact that we are Kosovo in the future to take appropriate steps so that what happened tonight does not happen again."

The Kosovo team continued their protest even when given a five-minute ultimatum to return to the pitch or face the game being called off.

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Controversy has struck again in a match between Kosovo and Romania, echoing past tensions. During a Euro 2024 qualifier in September 2023, the game was halted due to Romanian fans chanting "Kosovo is Serbia".

Although Kosovo's team returned to the pitch then, suffering a 2-0 defeat, this time they refused to continue playing.

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Kosovo captain Amir Rrahmani expressed his frustration, saying: "There were constant calls 'Serbia, Kosovo'. This happened for 90 minutes. In the extra minutes, the calls started with other words that I don't want to repeat because it's a shame.

"I told the ref for the first time to listen to them. He did nothing. The second time he didn't want to listen. After the third time I told him we are going out because this is so wrong."

"They have been aware because our Federation has made it clear to them to try to avoid this. The fans started even more after that with chants of 'Kosova, Serbia'.

"That's why we decided not to go out again as happened last year. UEFA must decide because we are footballers, we are here to represent our people, our country, which has a difficult past."

Nations League drama as match abandoned after team walk off in protest

Nations League drama as match abandoned after team walk off in protest

Nations League drama as match abandoned after team walk off in protest

Nations League drama as match abandoned after team walk off in protest

Nations League drama as match abandoned after team walk off in protest