Association and national players: abuse scandal dismantles Iceland’s football

Friday, September 03, 2021

Association and national team
The abuse scandal dismantles Iceland’s football

In the middle of the preparations for the 2022 World Cup, a tremor shook the Icelandic football association IFA: It is about nothing less than the accusation of having swept cases of sexual harassment and abuse by Icelandic national players under the carpet for years.

The World Cup qualifying is anything but outstanding for Iceland, but that’s not what is currently causing a lot of confusion in Icelandic football: The association has no management level at all. Last Sunday, Gudni Bergsson resigned as President of the Icelandic Football Association (IFA), and shortly afterwards the entire board of directors followed him. The trigger for the eruption at the top of the association is bad: It is about an abuse scandal that the association had apparently left unprocessed for years. Current stars of the national team should also be involved.

Bergsson recently stated in a television interview that he had never received any official complaints or advice about allegations of abuse against one of his players. Either a lie or a blatant flaw in memory: just a few days later, a young woman turned to the Icelandic television station RUV and stated that she had been molested by an Icelandic international in a club in 2017. At the time, she went to the police with another victim and also contacted the association a few months later because the player in question was still being used.

Bergsson personally reported to her family at the time and promised consequences for the player, so the person concerned in the interview. A lawyer also offered her money to sign a nondisclosure agreement – which she “of course refused”.

“We have to get better”

After the interview became known, Bergsson finally announced his resignation. A short time later, a statement by the association said: “Dear victims of sexual violence, we, the members of the IFA, believe you and want to apologize to you. In the future we must become better at supporting victims and fighting sexual violence. “

The player Kolbeinn Sigthórsson, who was not mentioned by name at first, has also published a statement on the incident. “From my point of view, there was no sexual assault – but my behavior at the time was anything but exemplary. I would like to apologize for that,” it says. At the time, he apologized to the two women and donated a large sum of money to a victim support association. Sigthórsson was originally called to the squad for the current World Cup qualifiers, but after the allegations became known, he was suspended by the Icelandic Association.

The Sigthórsson scandal is apparently not an isolated incident. Only recently had another woman on Instagram made serious allegations against two former Icelandic internationals. The two men raped her in a hotel room in 2010, the woman wrote in her post. At that time, however, she did not have the strength to prosecute the men – also because she was afraid of the power behind the accused.

Investigations into child abuse in England are also causing a stir in the Icelandic media. The focus of the police is an active player from the Premier League club Everton FC. The club had confirmed the investigation against one of its players, but only announced that it was about a married 31-year-old. According to several Icelandic media, it should be the Icelandic international Gylfi Sigurdsson.

In terms of sport, it is currently looking bleak for the Icelanders. After four games and most recently a 2-0 defeat against Romania, the team is currently fifth in Group J of the World Cup qualifiers. So on Sunday a victory against North Macedonia should come before the group game against Germany next Wednesday (8:45 p.m. on RTL).

World champion is in custody

The list of international players who have been accused of harassment or even rape is growing. In the most recent case, the French national soccer player Benjamin Mendy Rape in four cases as well as a further sexual assault accused. The incidents are said to have occurred between October 2020 and August 2021, one of the victims was a minor. Mendy now has to remain in custody. A court in Chester, England turned down a motion to release the 27-year-old on bail ahead of a trial.

Mendy had already been suspended from his club Manchester City last week. “The matter is the subject of judicial proceedings, and the club can therefore not provide any further comments until this process is completed,” said City.