Northern Ireland Relegated In Nations League After Covid Forces Norway Forfeit

Northern Ireland has been relegated from Nations League B after Romania was awarded a 3-0 win over Norway for their canceled match on Sunday.

Norway's health ministry prevented the team from travelling to Bucharest and insisted they went into quarantine following a positive test for Galatasary right back Omar Elabdellaoui, forcing the game to be canceled.

The matter was submitted to the UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body, who confirmed that Norway had forfeited the match.

"The Chairman of the UEFA Appeals Body today took the following decision: 'To declare the Nations League match between Romania and Norway as forfeited by the Norwegian Football Association, who is therefore deemed to have lost the match 3-0," UEFA said in a statement on Wednesday.

The result means Northern Ireland, which is bottom of Nations League B Group 1, six points behind third-placed Romania with one game to play, is relegated.

Norway faces Austria later on Wednesday, while Romania takes on Northern Ireland.

(Reporting by Arvind Sriram in Bengaluru, editing by Pritha Sarkar)