The U21 team loses 3-1 to Romania on the final matchday of the European Championship qualifiers, slipping to third place and missing out on the 2025 European Championship as well as winning their group. A refereeing decision in the first half is a talking point.
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- The Swiss U21 team had everything in their own hands on Tuesday evening. A win against Romania would have seen them qualify directly for Euro 2025.
- But that came to nothing - Switzerland lost the top-of-the-table clash against Romania 1:3. Because Finland won its match, the U21s even slipped to third place and missed out on the European Championship.
- In the 28th minute, the referee showed central defender Jaquez a yellow card. After the Romania coach stormed the pitch, he reversed his decision and showed red.
Sascha Stauch's U21 team misses out on Euro 2025, losing the clash for group victory against Romania 3:1. And because Finland wins its match against Montenegro, the U21 team slips to third place in the last match of the qualifiers and comes away empty-handed.
The U21 team is down a man for over an hour. In the 28th minute, with the score at 0:1, events came to a head. The referee shows the red card three times. Lucerne defender Luca Jaquez was sent off for a foul with an outstretched leg, while Romania coach Daniel Pancu and a substitute from the hosts were also sent to the stands.
Referee revises his decision - Stauch: "Scandalous decision"
Jaquez's foul is first punished by the referee with a yellow card. Romania coach Pancu then storms onto the pitch, furious and gesticulating wildly in an attempt to change the referee's mind. After Pancu himself is shown the red card, the referee revises his decision and shows Jaquez the red card instead of a yellow - without looking at the scene again, as there is no VAR.
"Red, not wrong, but very harsh," said SRF commentator Dani Kern during the match, adding: "Pancu's stampede certainly influenced the referee. And that is scandalous."
U21 national team coach Stauch agreed after the game. "The scene was decisive for the game. For me, it was a scandalous decision. The opposing coach gets violent, takes the yellow card he wanted to give Jaquez out of the referee's hand and gets a red card for it. In the end, he was rewarded for it and the referee showed Jaquez a red card. That was serious for us."
Romania respond immediately to Switzerland's goal
Romania made it 2:0 a few minutes later when the Romanians combined beautifully through the Swiss defense in the 35th minute. Stoica then smashed the ball into the net. A brace.
After the break, it was the U21 team's turn to score. Albian Hajdari heads the Swiss into the net after a wonderful feed from Alvyn Sanches to make it 1:2. Romania hit back three minutes later. Keller makes a strong save, but Akdag capitalizes on the rebound to make it 3:1.
The result remains the same. The U21 team loses and will not take part in next summer's European Championships in Slovakia after two consecutive appearances.
