March 11 – Kosovo have backtracked and agreed to play Spain in their World Cup qualifier after saying the Spanish had expressed regret for referring to the Balkan country as a “territory”.
Kosovo had threatened earlier this week to boycott the game in Seville if they are not allowed to display their flag or play their national anthem before kick-off.
Spain are one of only five European Union countries who do not recognise Kosovo as an independent state, along with Slovakia, Greece, Cyprus and Romania.
Kosovo’s federation reacted furiously on its official website on after the “territory” reference in a Twitter post about upcoming qualifiers. But the match will now go ahead on March 31 as planned.
“The president (of the federation) Agim Ademi received a call today from the Spanish Football Federation. In it, the RFEF regrets the news that appeared in the local media and confirms that the Spain-Kosovo match will take place according to the regulations and the FIFA and UEFA protocol for official matches,” the Kosovan FA said in a statement adding UEFA officials gave the same assurances.
Kosovo and Spain are in Group B together with Sweden, Greece and Georgia, the last two of which don’t recognise Kosovo either.
Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, a decade after a brutal 1998-1999 war between separatist ethnic Albanian rebels and Serb forces ended.
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