The Football Federation of Kosovo (FFK) has reacted to the provocations and racist behavior that occurred during last night's match between Romania and Kosovo in Bucharest, within the UEFA Nations League.

FFK in response states that the match was interrupted due to continuous racist and anti-Kosovo calls from the Romanian fans, who repeated racist and provocative behavior that seriously damages the spirit of fair play, the values ​​of football and is in complete opposition to UEFA regulations and principles.

"Cries such as "Kosovo is Serbia" and "Serbia, Serbia", whistling during the singing of the national anthem of Kosovo, throwing hard objects into the stadium and other offensive and provocative actions were present throughout the match, creating an atmosphere of unacceptable and unsafe for our players. FFK had warned the relevant UEFA bodies more than twice in writing about the possibility of such actions, once a few days before the match and then a few minutes before it started. Despite these warnings, the Romanian fans continued with irresponsible and discriminatory behavior, forcing the Kosovo National Team to leave the field due to the lack of safety and dignity. The match, which up to the moment of interruption had an excellent performance by the Kosovo National Team and a 0:0 result, escalated even further due to the refusal of the fans to stop their racist and provocative chants. Despite the efforts of our coach, Mr. Foda, in order to get the match played and to eliminate such actions from the Romanian fans, still even during the break the racist behavior continued. In such a situation, the players rightly chose to respect UEFA's anti-racism regulations and protect the dignity of the state of Kosovo, as an equal member of UEFA and FIFA," the reaction reads.

FFK points out that after the match, a Romanian official intervened in the press conference of the Kosovo National Team, removing journalists and then, in an unacceptable act, threatened and attacked a Kosovo player in the corridors of the stadium.

"This shameful and unacceptable behavior led to the immediate reaction of FFK representatives. For all these serious violations, FFK has immediately reported the incidents to the match delegate and has started preparing a full complaint with facts and evidence that will be submitted to UEFA's disciplinary bodies. We believe that UEFA will act in accordance with its core values ​​to strongly condemn the racist language and other unacceptable actions that occurred during this match. FFK reaffirms its commitment to protect the dignity of the Kosovo National Team and the values ​​of football, but also the principles of UEFA and FIFA for football without politics and respect for 'fair play', as a game that must unite and not divide. "Racism and discrimination have no place in sport or in our society", the reaction says.