At the Ullevaal stadium in March 2022, the Norwegian national team players held up a banner that read “Peace now” in Ukrainian colours. A reference to the war that Russia had started against Ukraine just over a month before. One of the players who held the banner was Mathias Normann. The man from Svolvær who 166 days later announced a transfer to the Russian capital club Dinamo Moscow. At the same time as the country invaded Ukraine. MARKING: Mathias Normann (far left) supported in March 2022 a message about peace in Ukraine. Six months later he signed for the Russian capital club Dinamo Moscow. Photo: NTB The transition sent shock waves through Norwegian sports. It was also the start of a period where Normann was banned from the national team, experienced a drone attack at the convenience store, and fled to Saudi Arabia. The flight from Russia ended at CAS, where two Russian clubs are suing Normann for “early unjustified termination of the contract”. The claim is several tens of millions of kroner in compensation. – Can’t continue to live here DUEL: Here is the Norwegian in a duel with Ronaldo in the Saudi Arabian league. Photo: Stringer / Reuters Lawyer Pedro Macieirinha represents Al Raed, the Saudi Arabian club Normann currently plays for. He was present to represent the club’s interests in the first of a total of two CAS hearings. There are no transcripts from CAS, but Macieirinha gives news an insight into what Mathias Normann is supposed to have said. About this time in Russia, just before he fled the country: – He says: “I don’t want to continue living here. Even if I make a lot of money and do what I love, I can’t continue to live here. My boyfriend calls all the time. My father calls, my friends ask if everything is going well,” Pedro Macieirinha tells news. Never before has one gained an insight into how the former Bodø/Glimt and Molde player experienced his time in the Russian capital. – In the hearing, Mathias said “how can I work and perform while I’m worried that a bomb might explode?”, according to Macieirinha. LAWYER: Al Raed’s club lawyer Pedro Macieirinha. Photo: news So how did he end up here? Not applicable with Rostov Just over two and a half years ago, Normann became a fan favorite at Premier League club Norwich. He was on loan from Russian side Rostov. The midfielder was a fixture on Solbakken’s national team. But Norwich were relegated, and Normann did not want to play in level two in England. But during the year, the war in Russia was underway, and it was out of the question for the player to return to Rostov – which is just a few miles east of the border with Ukraine. – He says that “my friends who live there see helicopters all day. It is not possible to carry out one’s job under such conditions”, Macieirinha alleges Normann to have said during the CAS hearing in August. The head of NISO, Kristoffer Vatshaug, is well acquainted with the Normann case. The trade union has been present during the hearings and is close to the Norwegian. – I feel bad for an athlete who has ended up in a situation that he finds difficult to be in. It is our duty to stand up for Mathias in accordance with the bylaws, he says. – Cynical, selfish, greedy or ignorant Instead, he signs for Serie A club Lecce. But already the next day, the contract is cancelled. A problem with the registration is said to be the cause, and the sultry player ends up signing a loan agreement with an option to buy with Dinamo Moscow. SIGNED: Mathias Normann shakes hands with Dinamo Moscow’s sporting director. Photo: Dinamo Moskva The transition caused several people to react strongly. Among others, news’s commentator Jan Petter Saltvedt. – He is cynical, selfish, greedy or ignorant. Or all at once, he wrote. NISO leader Vatshaug says that there have been internal conversations after they got hold of the case. – We don’t think it was difficult to stand up. It is a principle we have when we are a member organisation. We help when he needs it. Of course, we have had dialogue internally in the board and with the performer, but we have solved that in a good way. Kristoffer Vatshaug is head of the trade union NISO. Photo: Caroline Mitchell Larød Taus The time in Moscow lasts just over a year. After two alleged drone attacks just a few hundred meters from his own apartment complex, Normann terminates his contract with the club. He then chooses to sign a two-year contract with the Saudi Arabian club Al Raed. – As he said in court, “it is complicated when you leave Moscow. It should be one of the safest cities in the world, even if Russia is at war. No one expects to spot drones exploding when looking out the window or near the grocery store, Normann is said to have said according to Macieirinha. But it will also be the start of a legal battle. This happened to Normann in the FIFA hearing: Dinamo Moscow and FC Rostov sued Mathias Normann for “early unjustified termination of the contract”. The clubs believed that Normann had no valid reason to terminate the contract and was not proactive in finding a solution. They suspected that Normann wanted to sign for Al Raed instead of finding a solution in Moscow. FIFA documents show that Normann partially lost the case and was sentenced to pay around NOK 30 million in compensation to Dinamo and Rostov. Al Raed, Normann’s new employer, had to cover the bill, partly because FIFA believed the club had pressured Normann to terminate the contract in Russia. Both parties were dissatisfied with the outcome and appealed the case to CAS. The Russian clubs believe the compensation is too small. Al Raed and Normann believe they owe nothing. Two hearings in CAS are set up between the parties, the first took place at the beginning of August, the second is to take place at the end of October. IN ENGLAND: Mathias Normann played one season for Norwich in the Premier League. Here in a league match against Chelsea. Photo: AP Both times Mathias Normann has to make the long trip from Buraidah in Saudi Arabia to Lausanne in Switzerland – He told the hearing that this was a decision (termination of the contract) that was his alone. When he decided to do it, he didn’t think about where to work next, just that he couldn’t work there. – We did not know the player before he signed for us, club lawyer Pedro Macieirinha tells news. news has been in contact with FC Rostov. They did not want to comment on the case until the final decision has been made. Dinamo Moscow’s lawyers Artem Patsev and Anna Antseljovich have not responded to our inquiries. Dad testified Documents news has gained access to show that in addition to Mathias Normann’s personal appearance, his father, Sten Normann, was summoned as a witness. – No, will not comment on anything until the cases are settled, he replies to news’s interview request. Normann’s Norwegian lawyer, Eirik Monsen, also testified. He could not represent Normann at the CAS hearing in Lausanne. – I myself sit as a judge in CAS, and thus cannot take cases there. Then I had to transfer the case to a lawyer I know, says Monsen to news. The new lawyer is Cypriot Loizos Hadjidemetriou. He tells news that he can only comment on the case if Mathias Normann gives him permission to do so. Normann has refused. Al Raed lawyer Macieirinha is more talkative about how the case has been for the Norwegian. – His story is shocking, everyone understands that. It is clear that this affects some from Norway, which is a very safe country. Here in Saudi Arabia, he is completely safe. There is no violence and he lives in a safe, quiet place, he says. – Very bad level How long CAS will spend processing the case and when the decision will be made, it is not possible to say, according to communications manager Katy Hogg. – The arbitration court is in the process of deliberating and preparing the final decision which will contain its decision, she writes in an e-mail to news. In any case, it is unlikely that Mathias Normann will become a footballer again on Norwegian soil. DECIDED: Mathias Normann’s case is to be decided in CAS in Lausanne. Photo: AP After the transition to Russian football, national team coach Ståle Solbakken made it clear that a comeback in the national team was out of the question for Mathias Normann, although he added that “there is always room for forgiveness” (external link). In the Saudi Pro League this season, Normann is listed with four matches and no goals scored. – He still has his kick and the long passes. But it was a very bad level in the match, Solbakken told Dagbladet about an Al Raed match just over a year ago. news has on repeated occasions tried to get in touch with Mathias Normann. Pedro Macieirinha writes in an SMS that Normann “does not want to stand”. Eirik Monsen says that “I can say with 100 percent certainty that he will not make any comment”. PS: The last time Mathias Normann spoke to the Norwegian press was in September 2022. Published 18.10.2024, at 21.55
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Fleeed from Russia to Saudi Arabia when the war broke out – now Normann has to appear in CAS – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcast schedule
