– Acting like a football bull – VG

– I would like to remind you that we have not yet decided when the rest of the school will open and when they will be able to open important parts of our business world. So Trond Giske demands that football be told before all this. I think Giske is acting like a soccer bully. And soccer bullies have never served the cause of soccer, “Høie tells VG.

– What makes you think of him as a football bull?

– Because it tries so hard on the field to argue that football should not be considered on par with other sectors and attacks the government as strongly as it does so that we are not responding to football at this time. At the same time, I think he has come to the conclusion that we will come back to this next week, when we have seen this more in context, says Høie.

– The Labor Party and Jonas Gahr Støre must now clarify whether they are for a gradual opening of Norway or not. Trond Giske argues that all sectors that can make their own plans on how to deal with infection control, and thus obtain exceptions to the rules, must be open. If we apply that principle, everyone will be able to do it and all of Norway must open at the same time. The consequences of this are that we are likely to lose control and that the spread of infection is increasing significantly in our society, says the Minister of Health.

The best soccer team has asked permission to start contact training on May 10 with the goal that the series can start in mid-June. High says the government will release new information next week.

– I do not exclude that superior football can play from June 16, but the clarification and evaluation of this must be seen against other sectors that are also considered for the opening. Soccer must accept being in the same queue as the others. I feel that the Norwegian Sports Federation agrees.

Giske shoots back

Faced with Høie’s attack, Trond Giske replies that the Labor Party does not believe that all sectors should be opened at the same time. Storting’s representative also does not buy the argument from Høie.

– The football plan has been considered by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health to be contagious in terms of infection prevention. That does not mean that all other sectors must be opened. His reasoning lacks a substantial premise, namely that the health authorities must find it justified. Does Bent Høie believe that it is possible to create an environmentally sound environment for all sectors in Norway? It will be very surprising. After all, there are sectors that are considered to have a significant risk of infection that must be kept closed. There is no grip when Høie says that all sectors must be opened in order to do so with one sector, Giske tells VG.

– But Høie says that the infection can get out of control if all the sectors that, in isolation, are considered contagious, are opened simultaneously. It does not say all sectors in Norway. You see the difference?

– No, he doesn’t say that. He says opening for football means that “all of Norway must open at the same time.” That is not right. And does a sector with a minimum risk of contagion plus another sector with a minimum risk of contagion become totally unmanageable in the field of infection prevention? I don’t understand the reasoning. There should be reviews from health authorities behind an opening. No one in the Labor Party argues that everything should be opened at the same time.

– I suppose Bent Høie has not created a queue for opening sectors that are safe to open. The tail should be in those areas where there is a risk of infection over which we do not have full control. However, if Bent Høie queues him up and examines the health evaluations, he must endure a debate about it. Then you should post the queue it points to, says Giske.

An opening tail system

On Thursday night, VG was able to announce that the Norwegian Institute of Public Health has declared a plan drawn up by the Norwegian Football Association as an infection prevention professional. However, the government will provide no guarantee that top football will start again soon. Among other things, this led Giske to criticize the Minister of Culture Abid Raja.

– How do you experience the commitment of football, Høie?

– I understand everyone who is involved in your sector. I have seen a strong commitment to gyms, to all the great amusement parks we have in the country and I have seen a strong commitment to get the rest of our children back to school. I fully understand it, but I feel that everyone understands that if we are to open Norway gradually, then there is a queue. My criticism goes to Trond Giske, who calls everyone else to stand in line, but not football, says the Minister of Health.

– If the government believes that political decisions should be the basis, there should be transparency about the criteria used, says Giske.

– What is it like to be called a “soccer bully”?

– I do not think that this form of debate is in line with the serious consequences that this crisis has for people’s finances and security, including in football and sports.

! VG has been in contact on Friday with Leif Øverland, who is the director of the organization of interest for the best clubs on the men’s side (NTF). He expresses full confidence in the government’s professional health evaluations and says he speaks for the clubs. However, if the government doesn’t open for series games in mid-June, Øverland admits that it will lead to more debate about financial compensation for the clubs.

See more statistics from the Elite series on VG Live.

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