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Romania and Koso vo faced off in a Euro qualifier game on Wednesday, September 13 in Bucharest. The players of both teams were taken off the field for 45 minutes during the game when home fans aimed pro-Serbia chants at the visiting players. The incident happened in the 19th minute when some Romanian fans were heard chanting “Serbia Serbia” and a section of the crowd even demonstrated a banner that read "Kosovo is Serbia".
According to Reuters, a footballer confronted the supporters who displayed the controversial poster, and Romanian skipper Nicolae Stanciu reportedly attempted to deal with the home fans. To pacify the situation, the referee stopped the game, which ultimately started after almost an hour.
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Political tensions between Kosovo and Serbia have been high for the past 15 years when Kosovo unilaterally announced its independence in 2008. Kosovo’s independence is acknowledged by 100 countries, including the United Kingdom and the majority of European Union members, but not Romania.
Apart from Romania, there are a handful of EU countries that do not recognize Kosovo’s status as an independent nation. The Kosovo football team has been featured in friendly games for the past 80 years but was formally inducted into UEFA in 2016. It is expected in the coming days that UEFA will take disciplinary action against the Romanian football association.
Article 11 of the UEFA Disciplinary Code states that national associations are responsible for “interruption and abandonment of the field”. Article 14 regarding racist acts clearly states that "if one or more members of a federation insult or attack because of their racial, religious, etc. origin," they are exposed to a partial closure of their stadium in addition to a fine.
UEFA Article 16 on order and security holds the local federation responsible for the behavior of its fans. Among other things, for using “acts, words, or any other means to send a provocative message," especially one that is political, ideological, or religious. Talking about the game, Romania beat Kosovo 2-0 with Nicolae Stanciu scoring for Romania in the 83rd minute of the game and winger Valentin Mihail ensuring the win with a goal 10 minutes later.
