At the National Arena in Romania on Friday, the UEFA Nations League 2024–25 encounter between Romania and Kosovo took a bad turn when it was cut short in the second half due to injury
Kosovo controlled the game, taking 17 shots to the hosts’ four, even though there was no goal. But according to reports, some of the fans in the stands started the commotion by yelling “Serbia!” at the other team.
The 2008 unilateral declaration of Kosovo’s independence from Serbia, which the Serbs do not acknowledge, is the root of the hostilities between the two countries. While Serbia claims Kosovo, the Autonomous Province of Kosovo, and Metohija, this standoff has kept tensions between the two sides high.
While more than 100 nations recognize Kosovo, Romania does not.
The chants aimed against Kosovo players and officials further enraged the visiting side after a heated argument between Denis Alibec (Romania) and Amir Rrahmani (Kosovo) ended with the two of them grasping each other’s collars
The entire performance ended when Kosovo players and staff departed the field in the fourth minute of second-half stoppage time.
In a strange turn of events, the referee began play with just Romanian players on the field and promptly blew the full-time whistle, declaring the match suspended after Romania waited for an hour for the players to return, which never happened.
There has always been a sense of unrest during games between the two sides; the most recent example was a match on September 6, 2024, at Fadil Vokrri Stadium in Pristina, Kosovo. Chants such as “Kosovo is Serbia!” were among the reasons why that game was also often disrupted.
The Kosovo Football Federation was fined a total of 61,000 euros (USD 67,502, INR 56.72 lakhs) for the violence in the game, which finished 3-0 in Romania’s favor.
