Fadil Muriqi concerned about Vedat Muriqi’s case, takes aim at several

Kosovo’s national team came very close to the FIFA World Cup, but sporting fortune turned its back on them in the final playoff match against Turkey, where they suffered a 1–0 defeat at the “Fadil Vokrri” Stadium in Pristina.

They were one win away from the World Cup, but this time fortune was on the Turks’ side.

Millions of Albanians followed this match with great emotion, all the way from faraway Australia.

Kosovo football legend Fadil Muriqi has spoken about how he watched the clash between Kosovo and Turkey.

“First of all, with the most heartfelt wishes, I congratulate the lads for the contribution they have made over these years. It was a very difficult, but also historic, moment for us to qualify for the World Cup. Sporting fortune had it that Turkey would win 1–0 in Pristina. The lads made us proud with their performance.

We should mention the key moments, such as the match against Slovakia in Bratislava, where they showed fantastic, courageous and high-quality play.

There was also hope against Turkey, where they fought for 90 minutes. For example, Fisnik Asllani hit the crossbar, and had he scored to make it 1–0, everything would have been in our favor.

That’s football: you need luck and courage to overcome challenges like these.

We all expected the United States of America to welcome us for the World Cup, but fate had it otherwise,” Muriqi told the newspaper “Bota sot”.

Muriqi emphasized that our lads played high-quality football and that there was no shortage of chances, mentioning Asllani’s crossbar hit in the 29th minute.

“The game was high-quality, the atmosphere fantastic. Everyone was involved, from the Kosovo Football Federation organizing things to the public, who showed their support not only in the stadium, but also in the cities and throughout Kosovo, and wherever Albanians live, all the way to Australia,” he stressed.

The captain of Pristina’s golden generation said he was concerned about something he had heard and read regarding Kosovo’s best striker, Vedat Muriqi.

“Only one thing concerns me: some supporters and people who are not very involved in football call these lads traitors.

It concerned me that someone wrote that Vedat Muriqi is Turkish and sold the match. From the beginning, Vedat Muriqi, along with his teammates such as Amir Rrahmani, Fisnik Asllani and others, gave their all and made it to the final, exceeding expectations.

I would not want comments like these to be repeated and to make our players nervous or cause them to lose hope, because the European Championship is ahead and they can achieve good results. Whoever called Muriqi half-Turkish and said he sold the match knows nothing about football.

It is not right to insult someone.

People say that there is no mountain without a wolf or an animal.

Vedat speaks Albanian, Spanish and English, and he is very intelligent. Perhaps someone was bothered that Muriqi did not speak their language, Serbian. The contribution of the federation and of everyone is great, and befitting of them,” Muriqi stressed.

He added that there are many emotional moments when you see the fans’ reactions.

“It is touching to see children and elderly people crying over our success. Every player wanted to win and made a great contribution to Kosovo so that they could bring joy to our families, our fathers, grandfathers and great-grandfathers in our homeland.

Insults are not good, because they can undermine the players’ motivation and respect, even though they are fantastic players and their contribution is tremendous.

I wish the players good health and success at the clubs where they play,” he said.

The absence of captain Amir Rrahmani was undoubtedly a major loss in the match against the Turks.

“The problem was that Rrahmani did not play, as he was injured.

Nevertheless, despite his absence, the lads put in an excellent performance.

Dion Gallapeni, Mërgim Vojvoda, Fisnik Asllani, Veldin Hoxha and all the others played very well, without exception.

Their future looks very bright, and I wish them success.

Of course, the pressure of the game also had an impact, in my experience.

There is pressure and fear, but when they go out onto the field and see the atmosphere, they give their absolute best.

No one thinks of anything other than winning, and they carry out the tasks assigned to them by the coaching staff meticulously. Every one of them fights to represent the country as well as possible,” the legend Muriqi concluded.