The European Football Confederation (UEFA) has named Romania the winner of the Nations League match against Kosovo, which was interrupted on Friday evening due to anti-Kosovar chants from opposing fans.
Despite this result in its favor, the Romanian federation must nevertheless pay a fine of 128,000 euros and the team will play its next home match behind closed doors.
The match, which took place on the fifth day of League C, was stopped on Friday evening shortly before the end of regulation time when the score was 0-0. Part of the Romanian public in the National Arena in Bucharest chanted “Serbia, Serbia” and waved Serbian flags.
The Kosovar players decided to leave the field following these actions and the referee decided not to restart the match afterwards. The victory means Romania's promotion to League B is now official. The Kosovars, second in group C2, will play the play-offs. The first leg between Kosovo and Romania ended with a score of 0-3 in favor of the Romanians.
UEFA sanctioned Kosovo with a defeat as the team is considered responsible “due to the fact that the match was not played in its entirety”. The Kosovo federation was also fined 6,000 euros. Serbia never recognized the independence of its former province of Kosovo in 2008 and has maintained – in Serbian areas – so-called “parallel” institutions, from schools to hospitals and pension funds. Romania also does not recognize the independence of Kosovo.
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