Romanian match Kosovo: What did Foda say about the fight delegation?

Although there was an effort to resume the match, it no longer developed and ended without playing until the end.

On November 20, UEFA decided that victory at the table with a score of 3-0 met Romania, praising that the suspension occurred due to the unilateral departure of Kosovo players from the field. This ruling was appealed by the Kosovo Football Federation (FFK) at the Court of Arbitrazhi Sportiv (CAS), but this court also put the outcome in place, stressing that responsibility for the interruption belongs to Kosovo.

Romanian media “Sporturillary newspaper” (GSP) has published pieces from the CAS' 18-page document, which contains testimony and statements from match officials, representatives of Kosovo and Romania, as well as the final decision of the court.

U delegate's Declaration EFA, Milovan Djukanovic

In his report, the delegate UEFA, Milovan Djukanovic, explains in detail what happened in the field and after that, with Montenegrin stressing that there was no call for “Kosovo is Serbia”.

“When the judge awarded a penalty blow to Romania, Romanian fans began cheering Serbia, Serbia. Kosovo players decided to leave the field, protesting the racist behaviour of local fans, as they claimed after the match. The judge tried several times to speak to the Kosovo captain and convince Kosovo players to stay in the field and finish the match. They refused and went to the dressing room”.

I asked for an explanation about the player's decision to drop the game field. The guest team coach explained that the players decided to do so because the judge did not implement the first step of the racist behavior procedure by fans. His example of racist behaviour was hailing Serbia, Serbia by some local fans”.

“After about 40 minutes, the coach of the guest team told me that smaller groups of Romanian fans had also cheered ʹKosovo is Serbia. Personally, I heard Romanian fans cheering Serbia, Serbia, but not Kosovo is Serbia. I continued with efforts to convince the Kosovo staff, together with the security official, to return to the field, presenting the possible consequences of their decision to them. But it didn't work”

Kosovo's “Players left the field at 23:43 local time. I suggested to the judge that he give them time to reconsider their decision and return to the field. Kosovo coach promised me they would return, but he asked me to give them a few minutes to talk in the dressing room”.

“Meanwhile, Romanian players stayed in the field, waiting for Kosovo players to return. At one point, about half an hour after they left the field, the Kosovo coach told me that their players had agreed to return to the field, but then received some recordings from the trains while they were in the dressing rooms, probably from media representatives, in which Romanian fans cheered Kosovo is Serbia. Then they decided not to return”.

I walked into the field to see if there were such calls, as the secretary general of the Kosovo team had requested, but when I went to the field, no such calls were heard. Around the hour, the judge met with the captains and trainers of both teams and told them they had 5 minutes to return to the field, after which he would either resume the match or end the match. After three minutes, Kosovo players began leaving the dressing rooms and the stadium, and went to their bus to abandon the match. The judge gave the last whisper at 00:51. ”

Kosovo coach Franco Foda's statement: 

Kosovo Selector Franco Foda has issued his statement before the CAS panel, clarifying the team's position.

Kosovo's “Captain asked the judge three times, 10 minutes before the end of the match, to stop the match because of calls from Serbia, Serbia. He urged the judge to initiate the procedure (to suspend the match), not for calls to Serbia, Serbia, but also for calls to Kosovo is Serbia from smaller groups. The judge took no action”.

After a long discussion with the players, I convinced them to continue the game. When they agreed and we were ready to return, they received recordings of the calls Kosovo is Serbia, pronounced while in the dressing room. At that moment, it became clear that it was impossible to continue playing because of U's core values EFAs, as it is respect, were disrespected. Moreover, it was clearly racist behavior for the second time in this stadium within a year”.

For us, questioning the existence of the country and our nationality is more than racist behavior. It's discrimination. Our flag was burned and after the media conference, a journalist attacked one of our players before all the 48x1>, Foda said.

CAS Final Decision

At the conclusion of the review, the Court of the Arbitrazhi Sports (CAS) ruled, that Kosovo left the area unilaterally, deciding on the score of 3-0 in favour of Romanians.

Kosovo's “Players made unilateral decisions to leave the field, in the absence of a valid directive by the judge, and were responsible for the end of the” match, the decision said.

U n EFA sentenced the Romanian Federation to 128 thousand euros for violating the rules and improper behaviour of fans, including previous incidents. Meanwhile, the Kosovo Football Federation was fined 6,000 euros for abandoning the match.