UEFA has awarded Romania a 3-0 victory after the opposing team, Kosovo, withdrew from the match in protest of alleged discriminatory chanting by the home supporters during their Nations League encounter in Bucharest on Saturday.

However, the Romanian team has been compelled to play their subsequent match in the absence of spectators due to the discriminatory and/or racist behaviour of their supporters, which manifested in xenophobic anti-Hungarian chants.

The Kosovo players vacated the pitch at the conclusion of the match, with the score at 0-0, and the Kosovan Football Federation (FFK) subsequently accused the home supporters of engaging in "offensive and provocative actions," including chants of "Kosovo is Serbia."

The Romanian Football Federation (FRF) has stated that there were no instances of racist chanting during the course of the match.

The UEFA disciplinary decision did not mention Serbia, but it did impose a fine of €128,000 on Romania for the chanting and other offences, including disrupting the national anthem and "transmitting provocative political messages not fit for a sports event".

This marks the third occasion that the two teams have been subject to disciplinary proceedings following their matches in recent years.

The UEFA disciplinary committee has imposed a fine of €40,000 on the FRF and ordered that Romania play their next home match behind closed doors. This decision follows the use of provocative chants by a section of Romanian fans during a Euro 2024 qualifier in September 2023.

The FFK was imposed a fine of €61,000 by UEFA last month for fan misconduct when the sides met in a Nations League match in September.

Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia in February 2008, following years of strained relations between its Serb and mainly Albanian inhabitants. After the dissolution of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, Kosovo sought independence, and Serbia responded with a brutal crackdown against ethnic Albanians that ended in 1999 after a NATO bombing campaign against Serbia.

The independence of Kosovo is recognised by 100 countries, including the United Kingdom, but not by Romania and Serbia. Consequently, Kosovo and Serbia are always kept apart in UEFA and FIFA competitions.