PHOTO: Bildbyrån
Moa Ilar chose to help a teammate on the ski tracks.
Now she is forced to file a police report because of all the hate.
– It crossed the line, admits the national team Swede to SportExpressen.
It was during the end of the season at the World Cup in Lahtis that Moa Ilar helped the teammate Maja Dahlqvist in the most respectful way. The Swede braked just before the finish line and let past Dahlqvist to help her get much needed World Cup points.
The hatred towards Ilar
Maja Dahlqvist thanked and accepted and was then able to win the overall victory in the sprint cup thanks to the decisive gesture. While Ilar was dishonored for “unsportsmanlike conduct” by the competition jury in Lahtis.
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Then it would get even worse when the hatred took over and both Dahlqvist and Ilar had to receive a lot of horrible messages on social media. The hateful words have continued much later and Moa is now opening up about the tough time after the Swedish team’s tactics which aroused such enormously strong reactions in the skiing world.
– It was a very quick decision that I had to make on the spot, which created many headlines afterwards. But I’m still quite proud of what I did – however it was received. It still felt like the right decision then and there. And Maja was very grateful!, admits Ilar to SportExpressen.
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“Over the border”
The storm of hate has been palpable for the national team Swede, who has been told a lot after his choice to let his teammate pass the riot. The 25-year-old has had to receive a lot of unpleasantness and is now forced to act.
– There have been incredibly many. Most people are really positive, but there are also many who are very, very critical of what I did, says Ilar in the interview.
– There has been a police report. There was a person who wrote me a message that was over the line.
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Moa Ilar feels secure that the ski association has her back and supports her by filing this police report. And she thinks it’s a shame that it has to go this far because of cross-country skiing.
– It’s boring, of course. But sport touches on many levels – and apparently there are many people who think that you can write and say anything. It is so easy to write off via the internet that they might forget that there is a person standing there as recipient, she tells the evening newspaper.
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