– I am completely speechless, but I was already speechless on Friday. And I was probably not the only one, says news’s sports commentator Jan Petter Saltvedt. On Friday, it appeared as if the dialogue between Johannes Høsflot Klæbo and the Norwegian Ski Association had suddenly and somewhat unexpectedly reached its goal. Cross-country manager Espen Bjervig confirmed this to news. On Sunday, the tone is completely different. Now Bjervig confirms that the Ski Association still wants to continue talks about a different solution than the one he himself confirmed on Friday. – It is frivolous at best on behalf of the Ski Association. It is an extreme defeat to have to go back to the negotiating table now, says Saltvedt. KNOT IN THE THREAD: The tone between Espen Bjervig and Johannes Høsflot Klæbo has not been good throughout the summer and autumn. Photo: Geir Olsen / NTB Confirmed agreement – Yes, the case is out of the question. This solution has been there all along. I and everyone else knew this was possible all along, Espen Bjervig told news on Friday afternoon. Then Johannes Høsflot Klæbo had just sent out a press release about the status of the negotiations on a representation agreement, which was not on target. GOT AN ANSWER: On Friday, Johannes Høsflot Klæbo received what appeared to be a clarification. Now comes the counter notification. Photo: Lise Åserud / NTB – What we have been negotiating since May is a kind of hybrid between a national team agreement and a representation agreement. Both parties wanted a slightly larger and broader agreement than a simple representation agreement where you go in and out throughout the season. When we did not reach the solution that we both hoped we would find a variant of, it is just as well with a simple solution. Now we’ve done our part, so we’ll see what the Ski Association responds to, said manager Haakon Klæbo there. The press release was issued at 16.38, 22 minutes before the Ski Association’s autumn meeting at Ullevaal. news happened to be standing with cross-country manager Bjervig and the leader of the cross-country committee, Torbjørn Skogstad, when they read what had been sent out. Immediate reactions When Bjervig had finished reading, news asked if he and Skogstad wanted to discuss the content before commenting on the case. Bjervig declined that offer, who instead immediately applied for an interview. – It was important for Klæbo to land this today, so it ended up with the solution that he has a completely standard representation agreement like everyone else who is not on the national team and represents, Bjervig answered in the interview, which was also shown on Dagsrevyen. The statement provoked strong reactions, because such a solution would give Klæbo much greater commercial freedom throughout the season than the alternative that the parties have been known to be negotiating about. – He takes the inside swing at them again, said Adresseavisen’s sports commentator Birger Løfaldli. On Saturday, however, news heard from several sources that the agreement was not as clear as Bjervig had expressed, and that the cross-country manager had spoken in a way that was not rooted in the organisation. Wants to have new talks with Klæbo On Sunday afternoon, the cross-country manager confirms that what he said is simply not true. He explains that there were negotiations throughout the day and that they were close to an agreement. Then came the press release in which Klæbo stated that he was willing to drop the use of a private sponsor’s mark on the national team kit, which was part of the negotiation. – Just before we were to start cross-country skiing’s big autumn meeting, Klæbo sent out a press release, and when we quickly read through it, I got the impression that they wanted a solution with in and out of the national team throughout the season. We have had this as a possible alternative in the negotiations in the past, and I made a statement in the media about the same earlier this week, he writes in a message to news. And continues: – I therefore made my statement with that as a starting point, and understand in retrospect that I should have made my statement more precisely. We will have to come back to what will be the content of the representation agreement when everything is ready. Two days after he confirmed that the matter was out of the question, he informs news that the Norwegian Skiing Association will contact Johannes Høsflot Klæbo and his apparatus. – This means that we have not clarified what the agreement will be, but a standard agreement can be an alternative, as can a longer agreement, writes Bjervig. – Can’t happen news has also been in contact with Torbjørn Skogstad on Sunday evening, who gives a short comment without wanting to answer questions. – I have good faith that we will have all the pieces in place within a short time, he says. Johannes Høsflot Klæbo was made aware of Bjervig’s turnaround via his media advisor Lasse Gimnes. Gimnes says that Klæbo wants to wait for a possible answer. However, Jan Petter Saltvedt is very clear: – Such blunders cannot happen in a case that has been so inflamed, that has been going on for so long and is so important, says the sports commentator. – Depends on Klæbo The negotiations on a representation agreement started after Klæbo said no to a place in the national team in May. In periods where non-team runners are subject to a representation agreement, they are subject to the same commercial rules as the national team runners. In periods where they are not subject to an agreement, they are commercially completely free. The agreement Bjervig confirmed on Friday, but which he now wants to have further discussions with Klæbo about, would have given Klæbo commercial free periods between each World Cup weekend throughout the winter. REACTS: news’s sports commentator Jan Petter Saltvedt. Photo: Lars Thomas Nordby / news Jan Petter Saltvedt now believes that Klæbo has very good cards in his hand, if he accepts to return to the negotiating table at all. – If the Skiing Association is now going to manage to change this to a different agreement than the one Bjervig confirmed on Friday, they depend one hundred percent on “goodwill” from Klæbo, who, in a sense, gets an opportunity to prove that it is about other things than money, says he.
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On Friday, the Klæbo agreement was ready – now Bjervig is doing a complete U-turn – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
