It is one of the unwritten laws of the annual celebration of silliness and tight trousers that is Eurovision: neighbouring countries, and blocs with strong cultural and political ties – think the Nordics, Greece and Cyprus, the former Soviet states – tend to mark each other high.

The song contest’s “neighbourhood voting” has even been the subject of learned studies. But its role has rarely has been as explicitly acknowledged as this year, when the head of Moldova’s public broadcaster felt he had to resign because his country’s jury gave only three points to next-door Romania.

The same jury gave nul points to Moldova’s other neighbour, Ukraine, while awarding a maximum 12 points to Poland and 10 to Israel. The Moldovan public, by contrast, whose votes also count in the contest’s final result, gave the full 12 points to Romania and 10 to Ukraine.

After hundreds of fans took to social media in protest, Vlad Țurcan, the director of Teleradio-Moldova, resigned on Monday, describing the jury’s failure to recognise “sensitivities” between neighbours “extraordinary” and “serious”.

Țurcanu added: “Our stance toward Ukraine is not one of zero points, and our feelings toward Romania can only be ones of love. We have distanced ourselves from the jury’s voting, but this is still … my responsibility, as head of this institution.”

Much of present-day Moldova was part of Romania in the early 20th century, and the two countries share deep linguistic and cultural ties. Since gaining independence in 1991, more than 850,000 Moldovan citizens have acquired Romanian citizenship.

Moldova’s president, Maia Sandu, even said earlier this year said she would vote for unification with Romania if a referendum were held, framing the idea partly as a way to protect Moldova’s democracy, which has come under intense Russian pressure.

Margarita Druță, who announced the Eurovision results live on air, said in a video posted online that she had nearly refused to read them out. Former Moldovan defence minister Anatol Șalaru said only the public’s vote – “a vote among brothers” – mattered.

Alex Cozer, a political commentator, accused Teleradio-Moldova of causing “a scandal with Romania”, while Moldova’s culture minister, Cristian Jardan, called over the weekend for explanations for the way the seven-person jury decided to vote.

Victoria Cușnir, a member of Moldova’s jury, said she regretted having accepted the invitation to be in the jury, evoking “a public lynching experience” over the vote, which she said she did not see as “an expression of anti-Romanian sentiment”.

The question of neighbourhood voting “should be discussed from the outset, if it is the most important criterion imposed on the jury”, she said on social media.

Sandu downplayed the row on Tuesday, saying that “we should not allow anything or anyone to damage the relationship between our countries”. The most important part of the vote was the public’s decision to give Romania its highest score, she said.

Romania’s Alexandra Căpitănescu and her rock song Choke Me finished third in Saturday’s contest, helped overwhelmingly by the public vote. The winner was Bulgaria’s Dara with Bangaranga, followed by Israel in second place.

Căpitănescu, 22, said she had no hard feelings and thanked Moldovans who had voted for her. “We aren’t upset with the Moldovan jury, which scored the entries as it saw fit,” she posted on social media.

“It’s not right for an entire nation to be held accountable for the decision of just seven people,” Căpitănescu added. Moldova’s contestant, Satoshi, who came eighth, called on fans not to “fuel hatred”.

“Our countries have been and will remain friends,” he added.

Țurcanu, who was appointed director general of Teleradio-Moldova in 2021 for a seven-year term, is expected to remain in his post until a successor is chosen.