Sports Flash
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Florin Orban, 21.11.2024, 13:45
The Romanian national football team was awarded a 3-0 win by default from UEFA in the match against Kosovo. The announcement came on Wednesday after Friday’s Nations League game ended before the final whistle, the visiting side walking off the field. At the same time, the Football Federation of Kosovo was fined 6,000 EUR for what UEFA has called “inappropriate behavior”. The Romanian Football Federation was also severely sanctioned, found guilty of several violations and fined a total of 128,000 EUR. The Federation received a 50,000 EUR-fine and the team will play the next home match in front of empty stands after football fans shouted anti-Hungarian chants. The Romanian Federation will have to pay another 30,000 EUR after fans conveyed “provocative political messages, inappropriate for a sporting event”. Other smaller fines were given for throwing objects from the stands onto the field, for lighting torches, for using lasers, for disturbing the national anthems and for blocking access routes. At the same time, the Federation was warned against the inappropriate behavior of the national team.
The Romanian team thus finished first in the group and will leave League C, being promoted to League B. At the same time, the footballers will have an additional chance to qualify to the 2026 World Cup, hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada. The best four group winners in Nations League, excluding the teams finishing in the top two positions in preliminary groups, will take part in play-off matches for the World Cup. They will join the 12 runner-up teams from the main qualifying phase. There will be four play-off groups, each with four teams that will compete in a final tournament system, which will determine the final four teams that will qualify to the World Cup. The draw for the European qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup will take place on December 13, in Zurich. (VP)
