Norwegian striker Alexander Sørloth faced online abuse and death threats following Norway's 2-1 quarterfinal elimination by England, sparked by his decision not to pass to Erling Haaland.
10:29 PM
Norwegian striker Alexander Sørloth has been subjected to severe online abuse and death threats following Norway's elimination from the 2026 World Cup in the quarterfinals against England on Saturday.
Norway lost 2-1 in extra time to England, ending their tournament run. The match had been closely contested, with Norway leading 1-0 before England equalized and then scored the winning goal during the extra period through Jude Bellingham.
The abuse intensified following a specific moment during the match. In a two-on-one counterattack while Norway held a 1-0 lead, Sørloth chose to shoot rather than pass to an unmarked Erling Haaland. His shot was blocked, and England scored shortly after to equalize.
Lena Selnes, Sørloth's partner and mother of their two children, announced she would pursue legal action after receiving a wave of offensive and threatening messages via email and social media directed at both herself and the footballer. Selnes, who has more than 40,000 Instagram followers, broke her silence by sharing screenshots of some of the messages in her Instagram stories.
The messages documented by Selnes reflected the severity of the attacks. Some directly urged the footballer to take his own life, while others instructed him to leave the country and "throw himself from the top of a cliff." The comments far exceeded typical sports criticism.
Norway manager Stale Solbakken addressed the situation at a press conference in Miami, describing it as tragic. "This is the world we live in," Solbakken said. "I tell the guys to stay away from social media, especially on days like this."
This was not an isolated incident during the tournament. Colombian player Jáminton Campaz had previously reported receiving intimidation and threats following Colombia's elimination by Switzerland on penalties in the round of 16.
Norway defeated Ivory Coast 2-1 in Dallas to advance to the World Cup round of 16, where they will meet Brazil on July 5 in New Jersey.
Midfielder Jaminton Campaz faced online threats following Colombia's penalty shootout loss to Switzerland in the round of 16 after missing a late chance.
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