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The drama lasted all of Saturday. The plane was ready to take off from Oslo, but shortly before departure, Lars Lagerbäck’s Norway was informed that the authorities prevented the national team from traveling to matches against Romania and Austria in the Nations League. The reason? Given that Norwegian defender Omar Elabdellaoui tested positive for crown, the Norwegian authorities considered that the selection violated the guidelines if he left the country.
Late on Saturday, the Norwegian federation, NFF, announced that the national team will not travel to Romania but will instead be quarantined in Oslo. UEFA has also confirmed that the match against Romania will not go as planned.
– We have a strong understanding that the infection situation in Norway and Europe is serious, at the same time we strictly follow the protocol, together with 54 other nations, says NFF President Terje Svendsen in a press release on the website of the union.
The decision came after Norwegian Health Minister Bent Høie announced that the national team “chose for themselves” whether or not they wanted to go, but noted that if Lagerbäck’s Norway left the country, it would violate Norwegian law. .
NFF now writes in a statement that the guidelines within Covid-19 have not taken into account the situation that has arisen.
– We are very disappointed that the authorities force us to stay at home. The other 54 UEFA nations play international matches this week, except for Norway. This sabotages the national team’s ambitions in both the short and long term, players Stefan Johansen, Martin Ödegaard and Joshua King say in the soccer association’s press release.
If Norway does not show up for the game against Romania, the Norwegian league, NFF, can be severely punished.
– The match cannot be postponed because there are no dates available. If we don’t meet, the disciplinary committee will most likely give us a 3-0 loss. We also run the risk of being held financially responsible for costs related to the match. At the top, we can risk being financially responsible when UEFA loses revenue, competition director Nils Fisketjønn told VG early Saturday.
