No Norman for Norway! – VG

If Norwegian sports want to give content to the strict but necessary line towards Russia, it is impossible to act moderately when the star behaves in an amazingly non-musical way.

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There are different opinions in international sports about how to deal with the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Some believe it is wrong to let athletes suffer. Some argue that sports stars can live in a bubble, far from seeing their role in a bigger picture.

But in Norwegian sport, society is fortunately supported by the fact that there is only one acceptable response for Russia in this crisis: an ice shoulder.

This means, for example, that the winter circus in the winter can be less interesting from a mathematical point of view than if the officer Alexander Bolshunov and the gang were allowed to participate. Of course, the absence is sad if we only think about what happens in the path, but the great cost/benefit analysis nonetheless is very simple.

Ukraine suffers greatly from a totally unacceptable attack, which in turn has consequences for Ukrainian sport.

If only we had allowed Russians to participate as normal, realizing the propaganda value of sport to Vladimir Putin’s regime, Norwegian sport would have missed out on an important moral choice.

But how to deal with it if the topic is not Russian participation, but a Norwegian athlete actively applying to Russia?

In recent days, a case has emerged that could become a test in the selection of value for the Norwegian Football Association. It is located around Matthias Norman and Dinamo Moscow.

Some details still exist, so we have to make a necessary reservation, but Norman himself has a reservation TV interview 2 It was clear that he is choosing Russia and why he is doing so.

His reasoning is that this is the mathematical solution for him. He tries to legitimize the choice as follows: “If there is one thing I have learned in my career, it is that you do not confuse politics with football. I am going there to play football and I am happy with that.”

This justification does not spoil perspective exactly. One might wonder where Norman thinks he learned it, at a time when it has become clearer and more obvious that sport and politics are inextricably linked.

Matthias Normann was among the players involved in the human rights tags, but the thought of something else other than him must have disappeared somewhere along the way.

On Monday it was reported that only details remaining for Norman are ready for Moscow’s dynamo. It was bought by Rostov in 2019, and has since been loaned to Norwich.

If something happens to him while he is playing in the Russian capital, the pressure on the Federation is increasing ahead of the upcoming national team selections.

Talks between Solbakken and President Lise Klaveness have been announced. It should neither be long nor particularly difficult.

The result should be clear. You can not travel to a Russian club now, and at the same time be convenient in choosing the Norwegian national team. Here we can hope that Norwegian leaders will look at what the Swedish Ice Hockey League has chosen to do.

Matthias Norman said he was ready for criticism, and it had already come.

Now we can hope that he will also be prepared for the consequences of the elections if the transition is carried out as announced: No Norman for Norway.