Scandal in the World Cup preliminaries: The Albanians challenge the delegation of Istvan Kovacs. The referee, accused of “hating Kosovo”
Istvan Kovacs has a huge challenge on Saturday night: it will arbitrate the match between Serbia and Albania, from the World Cup preliminaries, a match considered extremely tense and high risk.
Istvan Kovacs PHOTO/EPA
The stake is huge, and the press in Albania reacted immediately, calling the UEFA decision to delegate the Romanian referee as a “shocking” one, thus amplifying the pressure on the Romanian Brigade.
In recent years, Istvan Kovacs has been imposed as one of the most valuable referees in the world. The peak moment of his career was in the spring of this year, when he drove the final of the Champions between PSG and Inter. His reputation remains excellent, and the fact that UEFA entrusted the match with the highest degree of difficulty in these preliminaries confirms full confidence in his professionalism.
Albanians challenge Istvan Kovacs' delegation
The match between Serbia and Albania had to initially play on the famous “Marakana” stadium in Belgrade, but at the UEFA recommendation, the Serbs were forced to move the match to Leskovac, a small town, with less than 60,000 inhabitants. The new arena has only 8,000 seats, which allows a stricter security and better public control. In addition, Albanian supporters were forbidden to travel to Serbia, to avoid possible incidents.
The tensions between the two countries remain high, due to the dispute on the status of Kosovo, recognized by Albania, but not by Serbia. The rivalry between the fans is an extreme one, and the political context makes the match considered a maximum risk event. After the announcement that Istvan Kovacs will arbitrate this confrontation, the Albanian press reacted vehemently, qualifying as “shocking” the UEFA decision to delegate the Romanian referee.
“Referee from the country that hates Kosovo!”
The journalists from Albania are seemed to be that Kovacs could benefit the great rivals, because it comes from Romania, a country that is not close to Serbia, which does not recognize the state of Kosovo.
“UEFA shocks with referee from Serbia – Albania! The central referee will be Istvan Kovacs, originally from the country that hates Kosovo, Romania. His assistants will also be from Romania, Mihai Marica and Ferencz Tunyogi, and the fourth official will be the Romanian Horațiu Fesnic! ”, the Albanians transmitted from Newsport.al.
On the same site was published a new article about the delegation of Istvan Kovacs at Saturday night's match, in which Albanian journalists expressed their dissatisfaction with the fact that the Serbian press intensely praised the Romanian referee. They suggested that the appreciations from Serbia could question the impartiality of the brigade led by Kovacs.
“The name of the referee who will overthrow Serbia – Albania, Istvan Kovacs, was made recently. What has aroused the biggest surprise is that it is to the liking of the Serbian press. Specifically, “Kurir” raises the Romanian referee, although he imposed justice on Dragan Stojkovic's team (no Serbia coach) only in one case, more precisely at the draw with Slovenia from Euro 2024.
“It will be a test for Kovacs!”
This positive approach has created various “fears”. It will be a test itself for Kovacs to control such a “hot” match between Serbia and Albania, where everything is played for 2nd place in group K in the 2026 World Cup preliminaries!“the Albanians noted.
The match between Serbia and Albania has a huge stake in the fight for qualifying at the 2026 World Cup. England is practically already qualified from the first place of Group K, but the 2nd place, which leads to the dam, is disputed by the two Balkan teams.
At this moment, Albania is in the second position, with 8 points, while Serbia occupies the third place, with 7 points, but has a less played match. Therefore, the confrontation on Saturday is decisive: the team that will win will take an important step towards the dam and seriously strengthen its chances of continuing the final tournament.
