Was not on the lists – Sport – Kommersant

The Norwegian Football Federation (NFF) has decided to sanction its midfielder Mathias Normann and not include him in the national team this season. Thus, the structure wants to punish the player for his intention, despite the difficult political situation, to continue his career in Russia. In the near future, Norman, who has represented Rostov since 2019, should be transferred to Dynamo Moscow on loan. Prior to that, in June, for the same reason, the Polish national team refused the services of midfielder Maciej Rybus, who signed a contract with Spartak in the summer.

The fact that the Norwegian midfielder Matthias Normann will not receive an invitation to the national team in the near future, said in an interview NRK head coach of the Scandinavians Stule Sulbakken. He clarified that the midfielder’s suspension was “an easy choice” and was due to one single circumstance – Norman’s decision to stay in Russia.

The 26-year-old Norwegian moved here back in 2019. Rostov acquired a little-known football player at that time from the English Brighton for €1.7 million. The player perfectly integrated into the yellow-blue scheme, almost immediately established himself in the first team and called this transition “the best decision of his entire career.”

Last season Norman spent in English Norwich. “Rostov” rented it out with the aim of selling it profitably: the price of the Norwegian, according to estimates Transfermarkt, soared to € 13 million. But due to an injury, the midfielder missed a significant part of the season, and when he returned to service, he failed to pull the team from the bottom of the English championship standings. As a result, Norwich, who flew out of the Premier League, did not use the option of buying a player, provided for by the terms of the contract, and Norman remained a Rostov player.

In fact, in the spring, after the start of the Russian special military operation, the Norwegian said that he did not want to return to Russia. But at the same time, he clarified that competing in the second most prestigious English division was by no means the limit of his dreams.

Last week it became known that one of the giants of Russian football, Dynamo Moscow, became interested in Norman. Moreover, the parties have already agreed on the terms of the deal: Norman will pass from Rostov to Dynamo on loan with the right to buy. Rostov sports director Alexei Ryskin clarified that there are some “legal difficulties” associated with the “slow work” of the International Football Federation (FIFA), but the player has already passed a medical examination.

Normann himself, commenting on the transfer, noted that politics and sports should not be mixed at all and that this is “the best sports opportunity” he has today.

Due to the decision of the NFF, the midfielder will miss the September matches of the final rounds of the League of Nations: in the fifth round, the Norwegian team will meet with the Slovenian team, and in the sixth round, with Serbia.

Mathias Normann is already the second player who did not receive an invitation to the national team due to his performances in the Russian Premier League (RPL). Prior to that, under similar sanctions hit Polish defender Maciej Rybus.

And in his case, not getting into the national team seems to be a much more unpleasant event. The fact is that the Norwegian team did not qualify for this year’s World Cup in Qatar, but the Poles will perform there. And Rybus, who has been playing in the Polish team since 2009, would have definitely gone there under other circumstances. But the Polish Football Union categorically refused to include the player in the application, explaining this by his “current club position.”

Rybus spent most of his career in Russian teams: he played four seasons for Akhmat and spent five more seasons with Lokomotiv. In June, the midfielder, who received free agent status, signed a two-year agreement with Spartak Moscow.

Ekaterina Remizova