Manchester City’s guilty verdict dominates the news landscape but Norway boss Stale Solbakken opted to shield Erling Haaland from it
Manchester City striker Erling Haaland was on target for Norway after Stale Solbakken stood him down from pre-match press duties. The decision came amid the fallout from the guilty verdict regarding City’s legal battle with the Premier League.
The Norwegian striker was set to face questions from reporters ahead of Sunday’s Nations League opener against Portugal, however in the wake of the news that City had been found guilty of 114 of 115 charges, a decision was taken to keep his focus on the forthcoming internationals.
Although Haaland found the back of the net, it was a disappointing evening in Oslo with Ruben Dias on target in a 2-1 win for Jorge Jesus’ side.
The 26-year-old was on hand to stab home after an initial free-kick was parried by Diogo Costa. The goal levelled proceedings after Joao Felix opened the scoring, but parity was short-lived with Goncalo Ramos firing in the winner just three minutes later.
Solbakken got his wish, however, as he wanted to keep his star forward’s focus on the task at hand as opposed to being swept into the hysteria surrounding the news of the guilty verdict.
The Norwegian head coach pointed out that the press conference involving former City midfielder Rodri was dominated by the discussions surrounding punishments and the verdict. He was preparing to face England for Spain but saw the news overshadow the build-up.
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Solbakken said: “We naturally want him to focus and have the best possible conditions to prepare.
“As everyone knows, there have been external discussions in the past day, but that has nothing to do with the UEFA Nations League or what we’ll do next.
“Rodri’s press conference yesterday is a perfect example; it wasn’t about the UEFA Nations League either.
“So I think Haaland should focus on his task now. His task is to score for Norway, and I think everyone agrees that’s what matters most.
“That certainly needs to be considered (media access to Haaland). Making this decision now doesn’t mean he won’t attend future press conferences. It’s just that right now, we’ve decided to arrange it this way.
“I think he can handle it [the noise surrounding his club while on international duty] well.”
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