Former Hammarby IF and IFK Gothenburg forward Astrit Selmani, 26, signed last winter for the Romanian big club Dinamo Bucureşti, which is currently having a tough time. Over the years, Dinamo has won 18 league titles, but is currently second jumbo with 20 points and one point ahead of Politehnica Iași and Botoșani in the qualifying places in the “relegation series”.
Selmani has so far played in nine games, while in several ways it has been an eventful time for him in Romania.
During Tuesday, the 26-year-old made his second start and his first goal, but at the same time also had a goal disallowed for offside in the 2-1 loss against Botoșani away in the bottom battle.
Selmani believes that the disallowed goal should have been approved, and is critical of how VAR is used in Romania.
– Photos afterwards show that it was not offside. They don’t have the right cameras at all angles, so then it becomes a bit half-baked with VAR, Selmani tells Fotbollskanalen and continues:
– There were two strange things, firstly that their player broke the ball to me, and then I was not offside. Then there was also a penalty and a red card for their coach, so there are lots of things happening all the time. You don’t keep up, and it takes a long time with VAR. It’s game five minutes, EVERY five minutes, game five minutes, EVERY five minutes. You don’t even dare to celebrate when you score a goal, and you don’t know if it should be ruled out.
Selmani thinks that Swedish supporters should be grateful that VAR is not used in the Allsvenskan, as in his opinion it breaks up matches in Romania, for example.
Even his approved goal was VAR-reviewed, before it was approved after a while.
– I celebrated, as I felt I was onside, but then VAR took a long time, as they had problems with the VAR room, where they could not get all the pictures. You hear how it sounds. It’s a travesty when you have to wait. You want to celebrate, but you can’t celebrate. There are a lot of emotions going through the body, he says.
Selmani believes that it is currently difficult for the team considering the situation in the table, and that the team has conceded several late, decisive goals recently.
– In the last five games, we have lost points in overtime four times, and there are not many points between the teams down there. All teams have had chances for victories, but have lost. We have also played without fans in two home games and now have two home games left with fans, so then it will be a completely different pressure, he says.
In early March, supporters stormed the pitch and fought with each other when Dinamo defeated UTA Arad 1-0 in the league. Thus, Dinamo was punished with empty sections.
Selmani believes that it was an odd match to be a part of.
– It was a messy match. Fans ran in and there was an uproar, but Dinamo fans also fill the away and home stands with incredible support. It’s a big club and wherever we go, fans meet us. There are many people who are passionate about it, and it was sold out immediately when they are now allowed to come back, he says.
There are now three games left in the season, which will decide the fate of both Selmanis and Dinamo. In the event of relegation, Selmani’s expiring contract will not be extended.
– If we leave, the contract is not extended, but if we stay, it is extended. It’s not really that unclear, as most of the players feel that way in such clubs. You don’t want to sign a longer contract when you don’t know what will happen.
At the same time, the 26-year-old now feels in good shape, and hopes to help the team stay in the top flight.
– It has felt better and better. When I came here, the team started to win, so then it was difficult to get a place. I had to jump in and have now had two or three weeks of good matches. Now I got to start and scored straight away, so it was a good match for me. Now it’s about finishing in a nice way and doing the best we can, so we don’t go out of the series.
