Basel Aliti after the fan scandal in Romania: “Kosovo is a free country”

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View: Fidan Aliti, first the 2-2 draw against Switzerland in Pristina, then the 0-2 draw with the scandal in Romania. How emotional was this Nati meeting with Kosovo?
Fidan Aliti: Very emotional, I haven’t fully digested it yet. The best response to these unspeakable events in Romania would have been for us to win. Unfortunately we were not successful.

The match had to be stopped for almost an hour because you and your colleagues were insulted from the stands and a banner was hoisted in the Romanian fan block saying “Kosovo is Serbia”…
Something like that doesn’t work at all. These are political statements that do not belong in football. Overt racism. Kosovo is a free country.

Could you have stayed in the locker room and the match would have been stopped?
In retrospect, that would have been the right decision. Only then could we have made a real statement. So the match ended normally and no one was penalized.

What were you doing in the cabin during the break?
We first held a tactical meeting. Until then we were better than Romania and had the match under control. Subsequently, a UEFA delegation entered the dressing room and a long discussion ensued.

The game continued and Kosovo conceded the match. Why?
You can feel free to ask the referee about that. That was a disaster! After the restart he consistently whistled everything against us. The red card was a joke and the penalty for Romania was fabricated. This is not a cheap excuse, feel free to watch the game again.

Even your national anthem was rigorously booed. How much does that hurt?
We expected whistles and as professionals we have to be able to deal with that. But people kept shouting: “Kosovo is Serbia” and no one responded. Only with the banner did the line seem to have been finally crossed.

This hostility came just three days after the “friendly match” against Switzerland in Pristina…
For us players, the match against Switzerland was not a friendly match. We wanted to win, there was a lot at stake. Believe me: in a duel you forget who your colleague is. But for all the people in Pristina the game was definitely one big party. The fact that we ultimately scored 2-2 was deserved and made it complete.

Six games, four points. Have you already written off your participation in the European Championships?
That may not be enough anymore. But we did not lose the European Championship against Switzerland and Romania, but before that with the draw against Andorra and the defeat against Belarus.

Source : Blick