The Romanian Football Federation (FRF) announced on Monday, in a press release posted on its official website, that the match between Romania and Bosnia-Herzegovina, in the start of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, will be played with spectators.
The FRF emphasizes that the sanctions imposed by UEFA after the Romania - Kosovo match in November 2024 will apply in the next competition organized under the aegis of UEFA.
"The Romania - Bosnia and Herzegovina match, scheduled for March 21, the first of the 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign, will be played with spectators. The Romanian Football Federation recalls that, following the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) last week, the sanctions imposed by UEFA's jurisdictional bodies for the Romania - Kosovo match, played in November last year, were maintained. However, for the avoiding any doubt, the FRF is able to confirm that the sanction will not be applied to the debut match of the Romanian national team in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign. Thus, the match will be played with spectators in the stands, without any prohibition in this regard. The respective sanction will take place in the next competition organized under the aegis of UEFA," the cited website informed.
In the coming period, the FRF will inform Romanian fans about the method of purchasing tickets for the match with Bosnia-Herzegovina, scheduled to take place on March 21 in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
The match opposing the Romanian national football team and Kosovo was abandoned at the score of 0-0, on November 15, at the National Arena in Bucharest, in Group C2 of the Nations League, after the visiting team withdrew from the field in min. 90+5.
UEFA decided on November 20 that ''the 2025 UEFA Nations League match between the representative teams of the Romanian Football Federation and the Football Federation of Kosovo, played on 15 November 2024, is declared lost by the Football Federation of Kosovo (deemed lost 0-3) for the responsibility of not having played the match in its entirety (according to Article 25.01 of the UEFA Nations League regulations)''. At the same time, the Kosovo federation was fined 6,000 euros for ''the inappropriate behavior of its team''.
In turn, the FRF was found guilty of several violations of the regulations and was fined a total of 128,000 euros. UEFA decided ''to fine the FRF 50,000 euros and play the next match behind closed doors as the host federation, due to the racist and/or discriminatory behavior of the fans (in connection with xenophobic anti-Hungarian chants)''. At the same time, the FRF was fined 30,000 euros for transmitting ''provocative political messages, inappropriate for a sporting event''. The FRF was also fined 9,000 euros - for throwing objects, 4,500 euros - for lighting torches, 8,000 euros - for using lasers, 12,500 euros - for demonstrations during the anthems and 14,000 euros for blocking access routes.
Following UEFA's decision, Romania finished C2 with 18 points and promoted to League B. Kosovo finished second with12 points, Cyprus finished third with 6 points, and Lithuania finished last with no points.
Subsequently, on February 13, 2025, the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne upheld the decisions dictated by UEFA following the incidents that occurred at the Romania - Kosovo match, played on November 15 in Bucharest, in the Nations League.
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