July 22 – In Norway, supporters threw fishcakes on to the field during the Rosenborg vs Lillestrøm to protest the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), eventually resulting in the top-flight match being abandoned.
The game was suspended after four stoppages following protests against the technology from both sets of fans.
First Rosenborg fans threw fish cakes causing the referee to halt the match after just two minutes, then Lillestrøm fans threw tennis balls and then smoke bombs as the match was suspended again. After the restart it was the Rosenborg fans’ turn to throw tennis balls.
Faced with the bombardment, the referee abandoned around the half-hour mark.
Norwegian Football Federation (NFF) general secretary Karl-Petter Løken dismissed the protests, called the fans’ actions “pure sabotage” and demanded they seek “legal channels for influence.’
In a statement, Løken said: “The NFF cannot accept campaigns where things are thrown onto the pitch. It is of course legitimate to be opposed to VAR. But this is not to discuss VAR, but pure sabotage of the match that goes beyond the players on the field.”
“The supporters’ voice must also be listened to, but then, like clubs and others, they must use legal channels for influence. And being listened to does not equate to getting one’s way either. That is not how a democracy can work. Sabotage of the game in violation of football’s regulations does not provide grounds for discussions with supporters.”
“I wouldn’t say there was any goal to stop the match. The goal is just to get rid of VAR. But I want to say that the match tonight was a victory for anti-VAR supporters,” said Joacim Møller, a spokesperson for Lillestrøm supporters groups in an interview with Verdens Gang.
VAR has been a contentious topic in Norwegian Eliteserien. Supporters’ unions at major clubs have repeatedly claimed that the technology ruins the game. In April, Sweden’s top divisions decided to not implement VAR because clubs were opposed.
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