[ad_1]
Some will probably also think that it is being abused.
Because when Health Minister Bent Høie confidently states that it is not relevant to give the national team an exception to the quarantine rules, it is an important political decision in principle.
It doesn’t matter if you are Jørgen Hattemaker or King Solomon, everyone must follow the same rules.
Confirmed: Norway travels to Austria – Smerud leads the team
In such a high-profile case, this is a political gift package that an experienced politician obviously grasps with both hands.
Because the decision is impossible to attack. On paper. The law is clear. Something that most of the most passionate public relations lawyers in the country have been struggling to point out in the media for the past 24 hours.
So far so good.
The problem arises when this principle obviously has an unfortunate consequence of allowing the same players to leave the country on regular flights. And it doesn’t take an infection control expert to understand that it’s no less dangerous considering that at worst, national team players have become contagious on public transportation.
When the images of quarantined Norwegian football professionals flow through the ordinary people in Gardermoen, everything comes close to a parody for me.
Y:
Today, a dozen players from the national emergency team fly to Oslo from one blood-red country after another. God knows what they can take on a trip. If infection control was paramount, then in fact, the remedy has not targeted the government this time.
Haaland and Sørloth can get permission to play for club teams.
The only thing missing now is for one of the new guys to test positive for Covid 19 upon arrival in Norway. But when you have to send them to the middle of Europe by public transport, it is a known risk.
Of course, the national team could have also received an exception from the Norwegian authorities in this case. If there had been political will for it.
Exceptions have been the rule for athletes since the pandemic broke out. Both in Norway and around the world. And the Norwegian authorities have also approved the protocols that the national football team has followed under the UEFA regime. All in all, it has worked better than one might fear.
To put it bluntly.
If everyone had lived as Norwegian soccer professionals, infection rates would have been guaranteed to be lower. Both in Norway and in Europe.
Norwegian football and the rest of Norwegian sports have proven to be trustworthy, with the exceptions they have received from the authorities.
That is why in Norway it has become so strong that elite series players can play football, while athletes like me cannot play corporate football or a game in the sixth division.
And there is a good reason why there are different rules.
Glimt players can reach the gold game – NFF is considering postponing it
Although we have flown beaches, we have flown south and we have lived a normal life all summer, professional soccer players have almost been locked in their own homes.
These requirements have been further toughened now that the infection has increased.
And my own experience is, in any case, that no one takes these restrictions more seriously than soccer and other athletes in Norway.
When I was in Bodø at the end of September, I walked around the city as usual, took jogging trips and met a lot of people. The only people I met who wore masks on the street were Bodø / Glimt stars Jens Petter Hauge and Patrick Berg. And the only place in town I had to wear a mask was Aspmyra. In a meeting with players and employees at Glimt.
When Jens Petter Hauge was traveling to Milan to sign for AC Milan, he was the only one of all the air passengers on that day who was wearing a mask. FOR entered the airport. Everyone else I observed put on their bandages when they boarded the plane.
Of course, this has not been a guarantee of not getting sick. Hauge became infected with Covid-19 when he moved to Italy. But under the control regime in which he has been in clubs and national teams, however, he has posed little danger of infecting others. Precisely because it is part of a resourceful community that takes this very seriously and has the competence to enforce.
Part of the consequence of the authorities’ nodding this weekend is also that Norwegian athletes and sports leaders are publicly portrayed as people who do not care about infection control laws in Norway.
But that is not the case. On the contrary.
In the last few months, I have never felt more secure than meeting athletes. And it doesn’t matter if I’ve been to elite league games, track and field competitions, or just met with athletes for press conferences or interviews. Because they are professionals in infection control. And they have also set me very strict infection control requirements to meet them.
The Prime Minister on the refusal of the national team: – He cannot be less strict with football
Going to the store, or to work for that matter, has been like contagious Russian roulette in relationships.
Therefore, this case becomes one more example of how the authorities use sport whenever it suits them.
In February, TV 2 revealed how Erna Solberg’s government overtook the sports federation when they signed an agreement with China on a sports collaboration until the 2022 Olympics.
By refusing the national team to travel to Romania, sport is once again being used cynically as a lever to achieve a political goal.
Of course, they have every right to do so.
But for me, that will be the final proof that sports are great politics. Also in Norway.
When the Impossible Games were held in Bislett in June, it was a major national event. It was the first major sporting event in Norway since closing.
– If they break the quarantine, it’s a problem
But at the same time. At the time, Karsten Warholm and the Ingebrigtsen team were still not allowed to travel abroad to compete or train.
When I interviewed Erna Solberg and Minister of Culture Abid Raja about this during the conference, they replied that it was because they did not consider sport important enough to be defined as a business trip, because it was not about life and health.
When Gjert Ingebrigtsen heard this, he replied with a sarcastic tone.
If sports aren’t important, why are they here? Then they could stay home and watch this on TV like everyone else.
– If sports are not important, why are they here? Then they could stay home and watch this on TV like everyone else.
Once again, the best Gjert put into words what the rest of us thought, but did not dare to say.
Throughout a long life in sports journalism, I have experienced that politicians primarily use sports to enjoy the glory of national enthusiasm. But when the going gets really tough, the same politicians play on the visiting team. At best, he throws the ball back at the sports leaders, asking them to fix the difficulties themselves.
Because in this case we all agree on the most important thing. Sport never becomes more important than life or death. Never.
Of course, soccer is not as important as the work that healthcare workers do every day to prevent the pandemic from causing even greater harm to people and our society.
But sport is really important for public mental health. Also in the middle of the pandemic. That is why I think we should all praise the Football Association and all the others who have managed to maintain the leagues and the competitions, without this helping to spread much infection. It has meant a lot to many. Myself included. Seeing Norway’s sporting achievements has been a huge bright spot in an otherwise bleak 2020.
The test showed that Ødegaard has had a crown
Paradoxically, it now appears that the emergency national team match against Austria will be a highlight. By a beautiful compromise, our second best men have proven to save Norway from this situation.
But even if Ruben Gabrielsen and company. We have already loved it in the sink, so I would still have chosen Brauten and Ødegaard 100 out of 100 times.
To quote Nils Arne Eggen: It is one thing to live. But what good is living if you have nothing to live for?
So maybe the discussion going forward can be how to better live with the pandemic, and not just hide from it.
And there politicians probably have more to learn from sport than the opposite.
