Both Sørloth, who is a soccer player on the A national team, and Selnes, who has over 36,000 followers on Instagram, are high profile people. The limelight brings with it several things, and one of them is inquiries from people asking for help in a financially demanding weekday. – Happens when people know you’re doing well Both Selnes and Sørloth tell news that the couple is constantly being contacted by Norwegians asking for help at a time when “everything” has become more expensive. – I think that applies to quite a few people who have large Instagram accounts. That happens when people know that you do well, says Sørloth. He says such inquiries come “often”. – But it is difficult, I think, especially on Instagram, to know who and what to trust. You get a lot of inquiries, not just about money, but also about costumes and video greetings. Then you try to do a bit of “research” to find out if there are genuine inquiries, and if there are, it’s very nice to contribute and be able to help, he says. Alexander Sørloth gets an important role in Erling Braut Haaland’s injury absence. Photo: Fredrik Varfjell / NTB Detected attempted fraud And on several occasions, Sørloth and Selnes have detected people who are trying to swindle money. Lena Selnes told news that she was once, via an app where people can ask for help, contacted by a lady who told a desperate story about her own family. But when Selnes investigated the matter more closely, she found that the same woman had asked for financial help several times – and then the story she told was completely different. – So you have to be a bit critical too, even if it feels a bit wrong to sit and judge what sounds true from such questions, when you can’t know what people are going through, she says. – Have they actually chosen to give money to someone who has asked for it? – I actually think it’s a bit disgusting to talk about someone having given something, but at the same time I want the focus to be on those who are in a situation where they can make a difference, actually doing something. And we are very lucky to be in a situation where we can contribute, she says. Alexander Sørloth and Lena Selnes have on several occasions contributed money and help to people who have asked. Photo: www.instagram.com/lenaselnes/ / With permission Have given help several times Contributing financially is not something Sørloth and Selnes are strangers to. In 2020 it emerged that they had given a cash gift of NOK 70,000 to Shirley Bottolfsen, an 86-year-old woman who had collected money for the needy for nearly 40 years. The sum was so large and unexpected that Bottolfsen feared someone had written too many zeros, but found out that the donation was real. – I called him in Germany and said thank you very much to him and his girlfriend Lena. It is huge from them, the now deceased Bottolfsen said in 2020 about the gift of money that came completely out of the blue. In 2022, the couple contributed both money and signed suits that could be auctioned off when they read the story of Melina (6) from Vesterålen, who was refused help from the municipality. – Then we got a very touching message on Instagram, where the parents just wanted some equipment to campaign away, says Selnes. – I grew up in the village myself, so I know how random it is, what services and skills are available to children and young people, something that made the matter extra important, she adds. Ola Solbakken, Mohamed Elyounoussi, Alexander Sørloth and Kristian Thorstvedt during a training session in Marbella before the international match against Spain on Saturday. Photo: Fredrik Varfjell / NTB Rosar football players in times of crisis Sørloth, who played and lived in Turkey in 2019 and 2020, was affected when his old homeland was hit by the earthquake disaster in February. Then he got to see for himself how important football can be when people find themselves in acute need. – Then it was very nice to see that there were so many people who wanted to help. It was auctions where several football players donated kits and brought in money for Turkey, and Adana in particular, which was hit the worst. So that’s fantastic, and really the least we can do, if you ask me. It is at times like these that cities and countries really need help, and then we as footballers are very privileged, so I think we should help. Then it’s nice to see that so many people do it too, he says.
Run in with people asking for money – fraud attempts uncovered – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
