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| Argentinians 'forced' to come play friendly match in Norway |
| [31.08.2007, 12:19am, Fri. GMT] |
| Super-star soccer players on Argentina's national squad had little choice but to travel to Oslo this week for a "friendly" match against Norway's own team. The Norwegians are widely viewed as no match for the Argentinians, and Wednesday's face-off at Ullevaal Stadium is little more than a command performance. As newspaper VG noted on Tuesday, the match is only taking place after officials at the world football association FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association).stepped in and forced the Argentinians to play the Norwegians in Norway. |
They were supposed to travel to Oslo back in 2002, but Argentina dropped the match to concentrate on more important ones. Argentina's coach protested this time around also, saying it wasn't convenient for his players to travel from one end of the globe to another for an exhibition match right now.
But FIFA ordered them to come, after Norway was snubbed five years ago and had to refund tickets to around 10,000 football fans who'd paid to see a famous team that didn't show up.
Norway's soccer chief, Karen Espelund, noted that the Norwegians had a written agreement and complained to FIFA when the Argentinians didn't come. FIFA sympathized with Norway, and Argentina was told to find a new date for a "friendly" match.
It took time, but the kickoff is set for 7pm Wednesday. Tickets were still available as of Tuesday morning.
Aftenposten English Web Desk |
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