– Both would be illegal in Norway – VG

– These are the ones who decide it themselves. What we have said is that the matches against Romania and Austria would be illegal matches in Norway. Travel outside of Norway will be in a legal gray area. If they implement this, they will challenge respect for some of the most important things we have in the fight against the pandemic. Our clear answer is that they shouldn’t do this, Høie tells VG.

On Saturday morning the message came that the national team will not be able to leave the country to play Romania and Austria in the Nations League. The reason is the positive corona test from the captain of the national team Omar Elabdellaoui, that the rest of the team is in quarantine and therefore must comply with the Norwegian quarantine regulations.

Soccer manager Lise Klaveness tells TV 2 that it is not relevant to violate Norwegian law. She believes that it is not necessary to change the regulations to allow Norway to travel.

– The last I heard was that Bent Høie said that it was not clear, a gray area, precisely because the regulations have not thought about this case. These are unproven rules. No one has ever thought that a closed group will travel out of the country without being in contact with another person on rented charter flights and rented buses, says Lise Klaveness at NRK Dagsrevyen.

– Can’t young, healthy players live in isolation by the rules, Bent Høie?

– They are also role models. There are many young people in this country who sit alone in quarantined hotels. There are probably many of them who might also want to socialize with others who were also quarantined. No one knows who can tolerate this infection and who cannot tolerate it, says Høie, who cautions about backlash if the NFF chooses to break the council.

This means that the Norwegian national team A will not be able to face Romania in Bucharest on Sunday night. This will have important consequences for the NFF.

– The match cannot be postponed as there are no dates available. If we do not meet, there is a high probability that the disciplinary committee will award a 3-0 loss. At the top, we can risk financial drafts as UEFA loses revenue, competition director Nils Fisketjønn tells VG.

Currently, it is not known whether the NFF can choose to play with the Under-21 team or with a team made up of players who were not initially selected. NFF has denied Eurosport that it is relevant to send a so-called “B squad” to Romania.

Høie further says that they will not physically stop the national team, that this is a decision they must make themselves.

– It is not relevant to violate Norwegian law, says Klaveness.

The NFF made one last attempt on Saturday to get the Norwegian health authorities to change their minds, but it didn’t work.

– It has never been the intention that someone can make a travel plan that gives exceptions to this rule, Høie tells VG.

VG commentator Leif Welhaven believes the quarantine provisions are clear.

– The core of this has to do with Norwegian law, and it would be immoral for the NFF to challenge such a clear message from the authorities. This is not about UEFA protocol. The corona infection reached the Norwegian troops in Norway. This activates the Norwegian rules for the quarantine provisions for close contacts.

– I think that now it would be prudent from football to reduce the level of conflict. Accept that the rules apply in an extreme situation and try to find the best solutions within the framework that applies. You can take the debate that different countries allow different things, but ultimately it is the national authorities that have the final say, not UEFA protocol, says Welhaven.

This also means that Wednesday’s international match against Austria is in danger. The main Austrian newspaper Kronen Zeitung also reports on Saturday that the country will shut down from Tuesday, November 17, the day before Austria, Norway takes place.

We are updating the case!