The decision comes after Omar Elabdellaoui test positive for corona. The national team training was canceled, and NFF has been in dialogue with Uefa and local infection control authorities.
NFF has been discussing the matter with the health authorities and UEFA all day, and come to the conclusion that the team will travel to Romania and Austria.
The players who come from Norwegian clubs do not join. Thus, let them go risk quarantine afterwards.
The squad originally contained five players from the elite series: Sondre Rossbach (Odd), André Hansen (Rosenborg), Marius Lode (Bodø / Glimt), Patrick Berg (Bodø / Glimt) and Markus Henriksen (Rosenborg). None of these are allowed to participate.
This means that the squad that travels, contains only one goalkeeper – Rune Almenning Jarstein. It may be necessary to call in some replacements.
The team travels as a group in their own bus, with their own charter flights, and stays in isolation at the hotel in Romania.
– This is a demanding situation with many dilemmas. We do not want to challenge the exception we have received for entry quarantine. We therefore intend to leave players who play in Norwegian clubs left in the infection quarantine in Norway, write NFF in the press release they send out late tonight.
Football president Terje Svendsen explains that NFF has chosen this solution to prevent the spread of infection in Norwegian society.
– As we assess the situation, Norwegian players living abroad can travel out of the country because they will not return to Norway, he says.
Sports medical consequences
They also emphasize the sporting consequences of not playing the game.
– The upcoming national league campaigns mean a lot of sports for us. If we do not field teams, it means that we lose two matches. That means a lost chance to qualify for the World Cup, writes NFF.
The Norwegian players have been tested four times since they came to Norway, and no later than Friday. All 33 test results received today are negative.
– This was probably the best solution they could land on. Campaigns are played, at the same time as the players and elite league clubs are protected, says NRK’s expert Carl-Erik Torp.
– I understand that NFF would do everything to get the campaigns played, considering the consequences of not being present, and I think this is a good solution.
INFECTION: Omar Elabdellaoui test positive Friday morning
Foto: Paul Childs / Reuters
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Omar Elabdellaoui, who is the vice-captain of the national team, has been isolated from the rest of the team.
– Omar first knew the symptoms last night and has a headache, a slight cough, and also feels lethargic. Beyond this, he is in good spirits, NFF informs.
In the press release, Stefan Johansen and Martin Ødegaard in the captain’s team emphasize that they are concerned about the increased infection situation in society.
– That is why we do everything every day to not expose others to risk. As football players, we have lived in quarantine for six months. We do what we can to keep football going. These campaigns mean a lot to us, they say.
Want new assessments
The increasing development of infection in Norway and in Europe has led more people to question the exemption for football players from quarantine decisions.
Health director Bjørn Guldvog has announced that sports must now take over new assessments of the various infection control protocols.
In recent days, there have been several cases of infection in both Norwegian club teams and other national teams. Wednesday was Norway’s match against Israel canceled as a result of an Israeli player testing positive for the corona.
The health director himself took the initiative and recommended cancellation just hours before the kick-off.
When the government and the health authorities held a press conference on the corona situation earlier on Friday, Prime Minister Erna Solberg announced that the government can not keep up with prioritizing sports regardless of the infection situation.
This has our practice
Norway has so far been the only one to cancel an international match. In other cases of infection, the national team in question has made teams after taking infection control measures after the positive test.
In October, Cristiano Ronaldo, among others, had a positive test during the national team gathering, and Portugal thus tested the other players in the squad.
When all the tests were negative, the rest of the squad was cleared for games against Sweden.
The Uefa protocol states that if 13 players are available, including a goalkeeper, the match will be played.
Norway meets Romania on Sunday and Austria on Wednesday in the last two campaigns in this year’s national league.
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