Following the events that took place last night in Zenica, during the Bosnia and Herzegovina – Romania match, the Romanian Football Federation considers it necessary to make the following clarifications.
Football is a sport of collective emotions, capable of bringing entire communities together, inspiring and uniting them, and creating that rare feeling that for at least 90 minutes we are all on the same side of the pitch. It is natural for passion to be felt in the stands, but it must be expressed in a civilized manner, in accordance with the competition regulations.
Unfortunately, last night’s match showcased everything football should avoid—and even more. Through its organization and through the behavior of the home supporters, the match not only failed to honor the most beloved sport on the planet, but managed to turn a sporting event into a demonstration of what modern football should not look like.
For many years now, UEFA and FIFA have taken on a clear role as drivers of social change at European and global level, promoting inclusion, diversity, and the firm fight against discrimination, announcing zero tolerance for such incidents. We would have liked these principles to have been visible last night in the stadium, perhaps even enforced, but the chants of the home fans had nothing to do with football and its values. Because although we want safe, civilized, and clean stadiums where competition remains on the pitch and rivalry stops at the wise level of humor or fair play, last night we witnessed the opposite. And although football can create magic, it does not have the power to turn disrespect into genuine passion.
Xenophobic chants were heard as early as the warm-up, and the Romanian national anthem—an act that should symbolize mutual respect between nations—was met with loud boos, so intense that the anthem was barely audible in the Zenica arena. We deeply regret this attitude, especially since respecting national symbols is a basic gesture of fair play.
The xenophobia in the stands continued throughout the match, and the chants were acknowledged even by the referee, Michael Oliver—though only in the 55th minute and only after our team manager repeatedly brought the situation to his attention. Thus, during the stoppage caused by Marius Marin’s injury, the referee initiated the three-step protocol, speaking to both captains and the coaches, and asked the match manager to make an official announcement demanding the chants be stopped. The announcement was indeed made (exclusively in the local language!) and was met with whistles that clearly confirmed the message had been received by the crowd. Near the end of the match, the same xenophobic chants were resumed in certain sectors, at which point the fourth official was informed again and relayed the situation to the referee. He chose not to intervene. Despite insistence and repeated warnings that the chants continued, Mr. Oliver took no further action. All these aspects were reported to the match delegate after the final whistle, but we do not currently know what his report contains.
For this reason, we also do not know the official explanation for why, at the end of the match, Romanian supporters were aggressively evacuated from the stadium, in a manner resembling an emergency evacuation rather than the conclusion of a sporting event. We deeply regret the way Romanian fans were treated and believe that any evacuation procedure must respect the dignity of spectators, regardless of the score, country, stadium, or accumulated tension.
The Romanian Football Federation, through its legal department, is preparing a complaint—a memorandum to the FIFA Disciplinary Committee—regarding the organization of the match, the terrible stadium infrastructure, and especially the behavior of the home supporters. We note that FIFA regulations do not contain a specific procedure for such a case, but the FRF legal team is doing everything possible to gather evidence and identify a way to protest so that such moments no longer occur in football stadiums—especially at the highest level, during qualifiers for the biggest football competition in the world, the FIFA World Cup.
The Romanian Football Federation has also taken note, with regret, of the gesture of several Romanian supporters who, on their way to Bosnia and Herzegovina, displayed an offensive message referring to a military commander convicted of crimes against humanity. We categorically and firmly reject such behavior, which in no way represents the spirit of Romanian supporters or the values we wish to promote. Such displays, just like those of the home fans in Zenica, are completely incompatible with what football should offer: respect and fair play. We remind that on Tuesday, at the Romania – San Marino match, the FRF will implement the campaign “Football Unites! Respect the game, respect the people!”, a national initiative dedicated to combating discrimination and racism. Through this effort, we aim to prevent any form of discrimination—whether ethnic, racial, religious, political, gender-related, or related to sexual orientation—and to send a simple but necessary message: football must remain a space of unity and mutual respect.
In conclusion, the FRF reaffirms its strong commitment to eliminating all forms of discrimination from football and will do everything in its power to achieve this, regardless of the nature of such incidents and regardless of whether they occur at national or international level.
