Vålerenga coach Geir Bakken received a cold reception in front of the supporters of his old home team Lillestrøm. Fans of the away team, on the other hand, were sent home when they arrived in Lillestrøm.
The regular season meeting between Lillestrøm and Vålerenga on Sunday in Norway’s main league Eliteserien ended with the home team Lillestrøm winning 2–0.
The fact that the game ended in defeat for the away team was not the fault of Vålerenga’s coach by Geir Bakken the only concern.
The supporters of Lillestrøm sang a song to their former coach during the match, the message of which was Bakken’s death after the match, Norwegian media VG reports.
It was Bakken’s first return to their former home stadium in Åråse.
Before half-time, Lillestrøm supporters raised a sheet in the air with Vålerenga’s coach Bakken appearing as a rat, with a bag of money in his hands and placed in a noose. The text Judas was written on Bakke’s forehead.
NRK’s soccer expert Carl-Erik Torpin commented on what happened in a Norwegian radio broadcast.
– I was very shocked. It is clear that it crossed the line there. I don’t remember seeing such a strong personal attack. Many people see this and someone has a responsibility to do this.
However, Bakken, who piloted Lillestrøm for more than three and a half years and moved to Våsterenga in the summer, laughed at the sheet.
– You have to tolerate the fact that there are supporters who think my transfer was not right. I think it’s good that they do it this way. It’s good humor. I had incredible supporters here behind me and now I’ve moved on.
The atmosphere between the teams had already been heated before, but especially after the summer, when the long-time Lillestrøm coach moved to Vålerang to join the ranks of the enemy team.
Billionaire owner of Vålerenga Tor Olav Trøim reportedly paying Geir Bakken more than he was paid at Lillestrøm.
Bakken had previously coached Vålerenga at the turn of the millennium.
Supporters were sent home
The start of the match was delayed due to the torches brought by supporters, due to which the entire field was covered in smoke at times. In the second half, the match had to be stopped several times because of this. The announcer of the match threatened to stop the entire fight if the torching did not stop.
– It is tiring to finish the game and wait for it to start again, coach Bakke told NRK.
At ten o’clock in the morning, a group of about a hundred Vålerenga fans arrived at the Lillestrøm train station with a plan to march towards the city center and the stadium.
Chief of Police Operations Trond Lorentz told NRK however, the supporters seemed aggressive, which is why they were sent back home by train. A police helicopter was also flying in the air, it is reported from Norway.
However, the match at Åråsen Stadium was played to the end. The game ended with the home team Lillestrøm winning 2–0.
Huuhkajien, who moved to Vålerenga in April from Jervi Daniel Håkans played the full 90 game minutes.