- Kosovo stars walked off after 93 minutes of their Nations League trip to Romania
- Home fans had reportedly chanted about Serbia and players had clashed
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A Nations League match has been abandoned following a bust-up and supposedly offensive chanting – as one team stormed off in the last minute amid jeers.
Kosovo’s stars walked off in the 93rd minute of their trip to Romania after the home fans reportedly chanted about Serbia – who refuse to recognise Kosovo’s independence.
UEFA did not explain why the game was cut short but Kosovo players were reportedly upset at hearing the pro-Serbian slogans – with riot police dividing them from the stands.
While the Romanian stars remained on the pitch, Kosovo’s players refused to come back out and the match was eventually abandoned an hour after it was stopped with the score at 0-0.
A meeting between these two sides in A Euro 2024 qualifier in September 2023 was also suspended after Romania fans had chanted ‘Kosovo is Serbia’.
On that occasion Kosovo’s stars did eventually re-emerge, only to lose 2-0, and they were not willing to restart play this time.
Kosovo’s Nations League match with Romania was abandoned on Friday night after clashes
Kosovo star Lumbardh Dellova makes a sign to the Romanian fans before his side walk off
Riot police separated the fans from the pitch for the Nations League C, Group 2 encounter
During the Nations League C, Group 2 match, Romania’s Denis Alibec and Kosovo defender Amir Rrahmani were pulled apart after clashing.
But the main drama took off in stoppage time when the Kosovan players took flight to their dressing room after the chanting.
That left the Romania stars waiting on the pitch in their kit for around 40 minutes before they retreated to their dressing room.
And after an ultimatum to emerge within five minutes or see the match called off, Kosovo’s stars opted to keep up their protest.
Footage from Romania-based football journalist Emanuel Rosu shows a confrontation between in the bowels of the National Arena in Bucharest.
There are shouts of ‘shame on you’ and one individual cries ‘you call us gypsy’, though it is unclear who it is directed at.
It is not yet clear how UEFA will act based on the match.
As it was 0-0 in the dying moments of the game, it could be that they record the result as such, but Kosovo’s walk-off may alternatively go down as a forfeit and a 3-0 defeat.
More to follow.