PHOTO: Bildbyrån
Sweden broke the rules in the World Cup.
Now Norway reacts strongly and comes with a clear demand.
– It can’t be like that, says Norwegian star Pål Golberg to NRK.
There were big protests when Moa Ilar chose to release Maja Dahlqvist in the World Cup final in Finnish Lahtis. Dahlqvist then won the overall sprint cup after Ilar’s fine gesture in the final sprint race.
Sweden washed up
But the International Skiing Federation, Fis, did not appreciate the gesture at all and responded by washing Moa Ilar. Now neighboring Norway reacts strongly and delivers a clear demand to Fis.
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Several Norwegian skaters now want to see guidelines for what is team tactics and what is unsportsmanlike behavior in situations like this.
– It cannot be the case that just because it is more obvious it should be punished more severely, says the Norwegian star skater Paul Golberg to NRK, which was second in the overall World Cup.
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Norway reacts
The Norwegian was himself involved in a similar situation during the Tour de Ski 2020 when his teammate Erik Valnes cut off speed during the run to drop past Golberg before the finish line.
– It has happened in the past that someone has been released to take bonus points and final positions. We see that the assessment is a little too inconsistent, so a clarification would be quite good, he says to the Norwegian radio channel.
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Also the superior world cup winner Johannes Hösflot Kläbo want more clarity on the difference between team tactics and unsportsmanlike conduct.
– Fis absolutely has to do that. There are always two sides to the coin, but for Maja Dahlqvist it was decisive. It was perhaps a little too obvious in Lahti, says Kläbo to NRK.
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The debate will now be taken to the big ski congress in Dubrovnik later this spring where it will be discussed further. But Fi’s head of length Michal Lamplot does not want to comment at the moment on what separates Ilar’s dishing up for unsportsmanlike conduct compared to Valne’s team tactics from 2020.
– The situation was special because it was the last sprint of the season and was decisive for the outcome of the Sprint Cup overall, says Lamplot in a statement.
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