Helmarie’s head coach Marko Saloranta decided that Anni Hartikainen, who played a top season, will not travel to Tuesday’s match in Slovakia.
Head coach of the Finnish women’s national football team Marko Saloranta has decided that the 20-year-old defender promise Anni Hartikainen be in the team when Helmarit meets Slovakia in the Nations League match in Trnava on Tuesday.
Hartikainen, who broke into the national team’s lineup in the fall, came on as a substitute on Thursday and managed to score when Helmarit defeated Romania 6–0 in the Nations League and secured the group win.
After the match against Romania on Friday, the national team traveled to Slovakia, but Aada NurmiHartikainen, Lotta Lindström and Natalia Kuikka were awarded at the Captain’s Ball gala organized on Friday.
The awarded players traveled to Trnava on Saturday morning, but Hartikainen missed his flight.
– Our team is fully focused on Tuesday’s Slovakia match. Unfortunately, Anni’s actions did not show the same commitment to the team and its goals as the other players who participated in the gala as agreed, and she missed her flight. Because of this, he will now be sidelined from the group, head coach Marko Saloranta said on Pallloiito’s website.
Hartikainen now apologizes for the situation in his Instagram update.
– I was late because of my own disorganization. There are no excuses for this and I take full responsibility for the situation. I apologize to the Finnish Football Federation and my teammates, whom I wish good luck for the match against Slovakia, Hartikainen wrote.
– I will learn from this mistake. It was human error and I can guarantee it won’t happen again. I am now working hard to regain the trust of the organization and the team so that I can help us to be even more successful.
Selected as the player of the year in the national league, Hartikainen has won three consecutive Finnish championships in his club team KuPS in the seasons 2021–2023. He played 22 matches in the season that ended and scored eight goals, which entitled him to the 15th place in the goal exchange.