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The Norwegian Football Association had long wanted to complete the national team’s trip to the now canceled away game against Romania, but it was not approved by Health Minister Høie (H).
NFF claims that the government refused the national team to travel to Bucharest, but Høie interprets the situation differently.
– We have not said that this trip, which was presented in the letter that was presented to us yesterday afternoon, would have been a clear violation of the covid-19 regulation, nor would it have imposed a ban on the trip.Høie says in an email to NTB.
– In yesterday’s letter to the NFF, however, it was noted that the travel plan will be in a legal gray zone, because no one has imagined that someone would defy the rules by assembling a full squad, where several are close contacts with an infected player , and support personnel on a chartered aircraft in this way. There is also no doubt that the trip would have increased the risk of those now in quarantine coming into close contact with others, the Health Minister continues.
– Høie’s responsibility to clarify
Attorney Audun Ludvig Bollerud of the Økland law firm is among those still reacting to Høie’s performance on Saturday night. On his own initiative, he has made a legal note concluding that the national soccer team had legal authority to travel to Romania.
– I think this is an abuse of power by Høie. You must not leave it up to the citizens and the Norwegian Football Association to assess whether they have interpreted the rules correctly., Bollerud tells NTB and continues:
– The Minister of Health leaves an ambiguity in the air that is his responsibility to clarify. He takes it to the NFF without clarifying whether it is within the regulations or not. It will not take a position on it because it prefers to let the NFF have that problem.
In his assessment, Bollerud refers to article 113 of the Constitution, which establishes that “the intervention of the authorities towards the individual must have a legal basis.”
– No violation of regulations
The Norwegian Football Association, for its part, has received help from the Thomassen law firm to assess the legal aspects of what was perceived as a ban on traveling abroad.
Attorney Henning Harborg in Thomassen is in line with Bollerud. The law firm agrees with the views of NFF and concludes with the following:
* Norwegian rules only apply in Norway. What awaits them in Romania and Austria is a matter for the Romanian and Austrian authorities. Norwegian regulations do not apply there.
* The only possible violation of the regulations will then be the journey from the hotel to the airport, as well as the passage of security controls, check-in on the plane and any other movement at the airport.
* As long as you manage to avoid close contact within the meaning of the regulations, that is, distances less than 2 meters, during the journey and inside the plane, the regulations can hardly be broken.
Warning
The Norwegian Football Association wrote a letter to the Ministry of Health on Saturday afternoon after learning for the first time that the national team’s trip was in defiance of the provisions of Norwegian covid-19 regulations.
Høie then believed that the itinerary presented in the NFF letter was in a legal gray area. Therefore, he was forced to warn the national team against travel, but denied having imposed any ban.
On this basis, I cautioned against the NFF to make the trip as described. However, it is the NFF that is responsible and independently made the decision not to complete the trip. And I’m glad the NFF made that decision, he says.
