Once again, the football fans in the stadium had to experience a stoppage in the game after tennis balls were thrown onto the turf. But at Romssa Arena, during the midnight sun match, the VAR protest was dragged on even further. Shoes, bottles, cigarette boxes and a radio-controlled car were sent onto the pitch. More than what was planned, says board member of Forza Tromsø. – We had planned to throw tennis balls and some bouncy balls on the field, to have a mark against VAR. The action escalated a bit and people started throwing other objects that were not planned, says Sivert Sørgård. In addition to being a board member, Sørgård is also the lead singer at matches, and resides in the lead singer’s tower. Sivert Sørgård in his permanent place at Romssa Arena, in the lead singer’s tower. Photo: Gry Berntzen / Gry Berntzen After a bottle was thrown at YMCA’s match winner Momodou Lion Njie, the cup overflowed for Sørgård and co-lead singer Morten Killingberg. – When the bottle was thrown at the player who scored, it was the last straw for me and Morten. Then we chose to leave the lead singer’s tower. – It has never happened before, says Sørgård. Make a public statement The day after the match and the VAR protest, Sørgård and the board of the supporters’ club felt compelled to give a clear message. In a longer post on the supporters’ Facebook page, Sørgård and Killingberg write that their messages were not heard and there is no excuse for throwing bottles at players. – Things have largely gone well, and we have a good reputation. Yesterday was far from what we want to be, and as it also says in the post, we are very sorry, says Sørgård Sunday. The pitch crew clears one of the shoes that was thrown onto the pitch during the midnight sun match between Tromsø IL and KFUM Oslo. Photo: Rune Stoltz Bertinussen / NTB He says that both he and Killingberg gave repeated warnings to the supporters to stop throwing things. So did Tromsø IL. At X, the club wrote an appeal not to throw bottles with contents, as it could lead to injury if someone is hit. The referee during yesterday’s match, Marius Lien, announced during the match that the match would be stopped if more objects were thrown onto the pitch. Also in the match between Brann and Haugesund, a radio car was sent onto the pitch. Watch the video here. Will continue to escalate Sports commentator in news, Jan Petter Saltvedt, believes that protests against VAR will only continue to escalate. – It is a frustration that only gets bigger and bigger for the fans, who feel they are not being heard. It will continue and it may also escalate. Sports commentator at news, Jan Petter Saltvedt, believes that we have not seen the worst of VAR protests. Photo: Lars Thomas Nordby / news – At least there won’t be any minor protests, until the supporters feel that the management of Football Norway is willing to enter into a real dialogue about VAR. Saltvedt points out that the Football Association will soon have to step in and set limits. – When you see the scale and intensity of the protests, the confederation leadership and Norwegian top football must soon take this seriously. It is their responsibility to ensure that this does not continue. The supporters have every right to be frustrated, as I said, within reasonable limits. Have VAR protests gone too far? Yes No Not as long as VAR is still used Show result The supporters protest against VAR by throwing tennis balls onto the pitch, does that lower the threshold for throwing other objects onto the pitch? – We have seen in the past that bottles have been thrown in other connections as well, which was cracked down on, also internally among the supporters, says Saltvedt. – It should not be repeated in any context. What happened on Saturday night is not good and I expect that everyone involved agrees that this should not happen again. Will there be consequences Sivert Sørgård states that there will be consequences for the supporter who threw the bottle at goalscorer Njie. – For the time being, we wait and see if the club (TIL) does anything. If not, we take responsibility ourselves. – We are mostly dealing with adults and we expect people to be able to behave properly when you are at a football match. For us, it is very disappointing that someone chooses to do this, concludes Sørgård. Published 14.07.2024, at 18.55
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Several things thrown onto the pitch during a VAR protest stopped yet another match in the Eliteserien – news Troms and Finnmark
