A jail term handed down to young Norwegian football player Andreas Schjelderup this week can jeopardize his chances of entering the US next year to play in the World Cup. Schjelderup is a member of Norway’s national team, but the US can deny visas to applicants with a criminal conviction.
Lise Klaveness, president of Norway’s football federation NFF, said the 14-day suspended sentence handed down by a Danish court was expected, after Schjelderup openly confessed to having illegally forwarded a video he’d received via social media that contained sexual content involving minors. The 21-year-old who plays professionally for Benfica in Portugal, was also put on probation for a year. He did not contest the charges against him and did not plan any appeal.
“We have a good dialogue with Andreas and his lawyer,” Klaveness wrote in a prepared statement, adding that the federation stands by its earlier decision that national coach Ståle Solbakken “is free to include Andreas on the World Cup team. We will examine whether his sentence will affect his entry into the host countries for the World Cup, which include the US, Canada and Mexico.”
Schjelderup has issued a public apology, won support from teammates and played in one of the national team’s final and victorious qualifying matches against Estonia last week, but not in the final qualifier when Norway beat Italy by a score of 4-1. That confirmed Norway’s spot in the World Cup for the first time in 28 years.
NewsinEnglish.no staff
