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NOT IMPRESSED: Per A. Flod strongly opposes the NFF’s handling of the firing of Lars Lagerbäck. Here from the traditional Aschehoug garden party in 2009. Photo: Terje Bendiksby / SCANPIX
The experienced lawyer Per A. Flod questions the ethical, moral and legal assessments of the Norwegian Football Association when Lars Lagerbäck had to leave.
– I react more to the fact that they simply remove a coach from the national team, they fire him, without any sporting reason. In any case, there is no objective reason, I cannot understand that, says Flod, the long-term advisor to John Carew of VG.
He speaks after Ståle Solbakken was introduced as the national team’s new coach on Thursday, while Lars Lagerbäck, for his part, says he was fired as Norway’s coach after a miserable autumn.
In a Facebook post, Flod strongly opposes the Football Association’s treatment of Lars Lagerbäck. He believes that NFF’s actions undermine the status that the employment contract should have in society.
– It is a type of assessment that I think you cannot do, both legally and morally, when you lead football. Moral because the NFF should create value in society, and has itself criticized coaches being fired in the booth and the weather, Flod says.
Soccer President Terje Svendsen believes the NFF cannot discuss contract details with outside lawyers who do not know the specific contractual relationship. See his full answer at the bottom of the case.
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Furthermore, he says that the NFF has a legal duty to society to take over the contracts, and believes that they are sending a signal that “the contracts are worthless.”
He notes that the NFF has announced an investigation into the firing of Viking coach Bjarne Berntsen last week and believes they made the exact same mistake themselves.
– It’s like the Bible: you see the splinter in your brother’s eye, but not the beam, not yours. I think the NFF is at the door here, Flod says.
Flod points out that soccer president Terje Svendsen did not explain Lagerbäck’s departure with sports results. Lagerbäck ended his career as coach of the national team with twelve victories in 23 matches.
– They wanted to enter Solbakken, because he belongs to the gang and because he was free. Loyalty to people appears to be greater than loyalty to the work they are supposed to do.
CAREW’S FRIEND: Per A. Flod and his client John Carew have had great success both on and off the field. Here in connection with a 2018 VG interview. Photo: Bjørn S. Delebekk
NFF: We take the initiative
– But Solbakken was vacant and has already said yes before. Doesn’t it have to be okay to bring it in now?
– I don’t think it’s okay to do this completely without further ado. It’s a bit like Kåre Ingebrigtsen, as no one understood the bear that he was fired despite the best results.
– What about Lagerbäck’s conflict with Alexander Sørloth? – Does your sight change?
– That there are conflicts within a team, with different opinions, it should be, that the long-time lawyer responds in cash.
Andreas Ekker at the Bjerkan Stav law firm represented Kåre Ingebrigtsen and Erik Hoftun when they went to court against Rosenborg for wrongful termination. He emphasizes that he only knows the case between NFF and Lagerbäck through the media:
– In general, these clauses cannot be applied from a legal point of view if one is not what is defined as “the head of the company”. And, in principle, it cannot be said that soccer coaches are “the top managers of the company” within the meaning of the Work Environment Act. Then top-level coaches, for example, had to be given in practice completely unthinkable areas of responsibility in the federation / club, and this applies regardless of the wording of the contracts.
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– Based on what you learned in the Kåre Ingebrigtsen labor court case, if Lagerbäck had sat on his hind legs and did not accept the dismissal and took him to court. Had he had a good cause then?
– There is no legal doubt that coaches are generally protected by the employment protection regulations of the Work Environment Act, whether they are permanent or temporary employees. From the outside, I would then assume that there is no legal basis for Lagerbäck’s dismissal or dismissal.
– Do you think that the football culture of firing coaches in particular means that you are on the side of the Work Environment Law?
– I think that at least football must learn to distinguish between what discretion may think is sportingly correct and what it has legal access to. These tend to be two different things, although cases are most often resolved amicably, Ekker believes.
Soccer President Terje Svendsen responds as follows when confronted with statements from Per A. Flod and Andreas Ekker:
– As mentioned above, NFF took the lead in a conversation to end the collaboration before the end of the contract period and Lars agreed to resign. We agree in advance, and in the employment contract, the framework for a possible termination during the contract period. We had a good dialogue with Lars about this. We agree with Lars on the resignation, but cannot discuss the details of a resignation agreement with outside attorneys or others who do not know the specific contractual relationship.
Here you can watch VG’s 15-minute interview with the new coach of the Norwegian national team:
