Where is the line between tactics and unsportsmanlike behaviour? – Ski stars need clarification – NRK Sport – Sports news, results and broadcast schedule

– It cannot be that just because he is more visible, he should be severely punished. Then it starts getting more difficult to judge, Pål Golberg confirms to NRK.

He himself was involved in an incident similar to the one between Ellar and Dahlqvist. During the 2020 Ski Tour, national teammate Eric Valnes chose to slow down when he was about to beat Gulberg in the battle for last place in the race.

Thus Gulberg secured precious seconds in the abstract, and in a duel with Alexander Polsonov, the Norwegian finally got to the top after a major Russian disfigurement at the start of the final pursuit.

– It has happened before that someone was released to take bonus points and final positions. We see the ruling as being a bit inconsistent, so a clarification would have been good, Gulberg says.

The need for clearer systems

Moa Ilar’s maneuver on Lahti meant her teammate Maja Dahlqvist picked up the points needed to win the sprint trophy overall, at the expense of Switzerland’s Nadine Fondrich.

– They are a team. They work for each other, not against each other. It’s her choice, Fähndrich told NRK, and I don’t know how I want to do it, after the sprint cup failure overall.

Ellar himself was clear that it was all about making the best arrangements possible for his friend in the national team.

– At the time, it seemed like the right decision. One could argue that I ran out. Nobody knows, the Swede told NRK.

Look at the situation in which Ilar is eliminated in the video window below:

Ingvild Flugstad Østberg believes that the episode between Ilar and Dahlqvist is one of several examples that underscore the need for clearer guidelines.

After all, there are episodes that make clearer regulations necessary. How would you be able to judge whether or not someone is giving it their all? Ostberg says it will be a bit word for word.

– It was (in Lahti) very clear, but again there may be some less obvious episodes, she adds.

– The FIS must decide

In 2016, the FIS adopted a new one systems Which, among other things, said so “Any manipulation of a sporting result is not allowed because it can undermine confidence in the sport and the result that was normal.”.

Johannes Hosflott Klæbo, who himself went through an emotional rollercoaster when he was snatched into the restroom of a five-mile run in 2021, demands FIS come on the field with an explanation of what the team’s tactics are and what unsportsmanlike behaviour.

– They certainly should. There are always two sides to the matter, but for Maja (Dahlqvist) it was decisive. Maybe it was a bit obvious there (in Lahti).

Are we allowed to work as a team?

– At least this is what the Islamic Salvation Front must decide.

Cross-country director at the Norwegian Ski Association and national team representative on a cross-country committee at FIS, Esben Pervig, was candid about his thoughts on the matter when NRK contacted us on Friday.

– This is a topic that will be taken up at the Spring Meetings in Dubrovnik, where experienced people can discuss whether the rules should be refined. Beyond that, I have no comment, said Bjerwig.

– The decision is made by each individual jury

FIS race director Michel Lamblott does not want to comment on what distinguishes Ellar’s maneuver from the situations with Ostberg and Gulberg, as he himself was not a member of the jury in any of the cases.

But he believes the circumstances surrounding the race in Lahti played a decisive role in Elar’s disqualification.

– The situation was special because it was the last sprint of the World Cup season, which was also decisive for the overall result of the Sprint Cup, he wrote for NRK.

– You see it from your point of view. Where is the line between team tactics and unsportsmanlike behaviour?

The International Competition Rules (ICR) do not specify unsportsmanlike behaviour. It is up to each jury to judge whether or not the behavior was unsportsmanlike. The Lahti jury considered this unsportsmanlike behavior because it was considered an act of direct impact on other runners, says Lamplott.

I welcome more team tactics

During the Tour de Ski in 2013, Flugstad Østberg ended up at the center of events when it allowed Christine Stürmer-Stera to overtake her in the sprint semi-final in Val Müstair. Steira ended up on the podium overall.

Unlike Ellar, who was disqualified because the jury thought “conduct was unsportsmanlike”, Ostberg’s selection had no consequences.

– I remember this situation very well. In a way, I had no doubt that this was what I was supposed to do when I got there, but at the same time it hurt me so much on a personal front. I had a good day and was able to go for my first podium in a World Cup race, says Ostberg.

Three-time world champion, twice in the relay and once in the relay race, Finn Hagen-Krogh, wants such episodes to happen more often.

– Maybe it’s time to introduce some tactics into cross-country skiing. It’s an individual sport, but it gets tighter and tighter at the top, so in the end a little bit of team play is needed to sort things out, he tells NRK.

What do you think about the jury disciplining her for unsportsmanlike behaviour?

– Then there are many who should have been knocked out in a number of rounds. It’s part of the sport, and I myself got help from Holland once. If it is not legal, Krug maintains, there is no point in having a team called the national team.