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IFK Norrköping lost points in the final minutes to AIK yesterday after failing to receive a penalty at 2-2, shortly after AIK’s draw on the penalty.
Subsequently, Simon Thern from Norrköping was furious at the referee’s effort – now commented by the base referee Stefan Johannesson.
– I can’t say what people can say and not say, but I don’t think it’s respectful to say what they say. It’s not okay anywhere. I would probably never come out and say what I think of him as a player, Johannesson tells SVT Sport.
Can it be punished in any way?
– No. It is not a criminal case, it is not a personal attack. It’s more of a generalization where he thinks that Swedish judges are under all the criticism and you have the right to think so. So you can present things in a different way.
“He was also pissed off”
Thern said he sees two options: hire international judges or implement VAR. Johannesson responds to that.
– That is really what all the leagues say, that other referees want. It can be in the nature of things. We could also want La Liga in Sweden.
But do you agree with Thern that the reviews were unfair?
– That can be discussed until the end of the day. I understand the frustration when you have been exposed and now I have not made up my mind, but Norrköping may have … If you take the situation from yesterday, I understand that you get angry. Of course I would be too, says Johannesson and continues:
– However, the statement, as far as I understand, does not come immediately after the final signal. It’s one thing to say it in sheer frustration, but now it took a while and then you should have had time to think about what you say and how you express it.
