Three Kosovo players were charged with going to a nightclub while on international duty following their team’s 3-0 loss to Romania on Friday.
The players reportedly lingered at the club until two in the morning, which prompted the Kosovo Football Federation (FFK) to take immediate disciplinary action.
In a statement, the FFK confirmed the players’ dismissal and stated that the association’s leadership and the team’s coach, Franco Foda, made the decision together.
Goalkeeper Arijanet Muric of Ipswich Town was among the players at the centre of the incident; he was cut from the team along with Edon Zhegrova and Florent Muslija.
The statement read: ‘By a joint decision of coach Franco Foda and the association, three football players were excluded: Arijanet Muric, Edon Zhegrova, and Florent Muslija, because they violated the rules of the national team established by the coach and the association.’
The Kosovan federation also warned it will ‘decide on further measures against the football players concerned’.
The players didn’t seem to care too much about the scandal that shook the team.
Zhegrova replied to the accusations on Instagram as “fake news,” while Muric purportedly stated that they were only there for the meal and not to party.
He went on to add: ‘The decision for us was not fair at all and the rumours that are circulating are not true at all.’
