Kosovo stands and threatens not to play against Spain

The Kosovo team has issued a harsh statement against the Spanish Football Federation in which it threatens not to play the qualifying matches for the Qatar World Cup.. The matter comes as a result of a tweet published by the official account of the National Team in which they refer to Kosovo as “Kosovo territory“, in the presentation of the match that will foreseeably be played on the 31st in Seville. Faced with such a situation, they warn that they will only play the matches if a presentation with the national anthem and flag is allowed, as established by the UEFA regulations . What's more, They emphasize in the note published on their website that they have established contacts with the body chaired by Luis Rubiales for a quick rectification. According to RFEF sources, they are aware of the unrest in Kosovo, but insist that they have not received any official communication in this regard. In addition, the Federation, in contact with AS, wants to avoid problems with the Kosovo football regulatory body and explains that it is governed “by the guidelines of the Government of Spain.” Moncloa has given the RFEF a series of indications and terms with which to address Kosovo, on the basis that it is not recognized as a country. This is the full statement from the Kosovo team:

“The approach of the Spanish state towards the state of Kosovo has been regrettably destructive since the declaration of Independence on February 17, 2008, but this approach and the structure that the institutions of this country try to give to the citizens of Kosovo, cannot change the history and reality.

Kosovo is an independent state, recognized by most of the most developed and democratic countries in the world and a member on an equal footing with all other UEFA and FIFA countries since May 2016.

The attempt of the Spaniards to minimize the statehood of Kosovo in the March 31 match for the World Cup qualifiers “Qatar 2022”, referring to Kosovo as territory, is in vain and unfair. They are aware that on this date they will face the Kosovo National Team, which will present itself like any other country.

The UEFA and FIFA criteria are crystal clear and Spain knows it, so what is said and written does not change these rules and will in no way change them. If they want to justify themselves in front of the national media it is their problem, but Kosovo will not make any concessions: we will only play according to the strict criteria and rules of UEFA, with the national anthem and the flag, otherwise the match will not will be disputed.

However, this form of rapprochement by the Spanish is unacceptable to us and we immediately contacted the Spanish Federation, and now we are waiting for a quick reaction from them. If they do not react in this direction, then we will be forced to claim our right to UEFA, where we will seek the protection of this institution, because we are members of UEFA with the same rights as 54 other associations and Spain is obliged to treat us as that way.

The FFK expects the Spanish Federation to behave in accordance with the UEFA and FIFA rules and not take actions that damage the relations between the federations and our two countries.“.

Why doesn't Spain recognize Kosovo?

The main reason why Kosovo is not recognized is none other than the Catalan conflict. Thus, the Government considers Kosovo as part of Serbia, due to the similarities between both cases. Mariano Rajoy, in May 2018, did not attend the EU-Balkans Summit due to the fact that they were representatives of the country. It was the only state in the European Union that argued this reason for being absent.

Alejandro Blanco, president of the Spanish Olympic Committee, He explained in 'El Larguero' that there is no problem for Spain to face Kosovo: “You have to distinguish two important things. Kosovo is accepted by all international sports bodies therefore you have to respect the rules that govern but that does not mean that Kosovo is recognized as a state. His anthem will sound and his flag will be displayed. That Spain does not recognize it as a country is not incompatible with their being able to play a match between themselves. “

The independence of Kosovo

On February 17, 2008, With the support of the United States and most of the European Union countries, Kosovo unilaterally declared its independence and a Republic was established. Serbia, on the contrary, continues to consider Kosovo as a region within its territory, based on the Constitution and resolution 1244 of the United Nations Security Council.

Today, 90 of the 193 member states of the United Nations do consider Kosovo an independent nation. Serbia, Russia, China or Spain itself do not. Like most countries in America, Asia and Africa. In 2013, Serbia and Kosovo initially agreed to institutional relations as states, which was the beginning of understanding between both parties.

Spain's position

Spain has always maintained a belligerent stance on this issue. The non-recognition was valued and reached a consensus in 2008. Since then, different governments have taken power that have not given their arm to twist. Josep Borrell, Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2018, hinted that if Serbia and Kosovo reached an agreement, the country would change its mind. This is how I let him glimpse: “We are not going to be more papist than the Pope.” At the moment, those talks don't seem close to reaching an agreement.

For the first time, Pedro Sánchez shared space with Kosovar leaders in pandemic. Figuratively space, since telematic meetings favored the presence of both parties without any symbols or images involved. Even so, the posture has not changed. Madrid continues to appeal to the understanding between Serbia and Kosovo to change its perspective. Now, the matter reaches football and it is unknown what will be the courses of action once there has been a clash in the statements.

The independence of Kosovo is directly related to the Catalan conflict. The pro-independence parties have shown their full support for the Republic for years. In his day, ERC and Convergència i Unió congratulated the country for its achievements and even presented motions to the Spanish Government so that it recognized Kosovo institutionally.

So that, one of the reasons why Spain resigns itself to declaring Kosovo as an independent region it is because they would be agreeing with a country with which the Catalan independence parties consider they have a lot in common. In this way, the matter could establish a lecture and encrust the conflict that is being experienced in the national territory. In any case, Hashim Thaçi, Kosovar Prime Minister in 2018, stood out from the comparison: “Spain is not Serbia and Catalonia is not Kosovo”.