Norway Coach Criticizes World Cup Procedures After Iraq Star’s Detention

Stale Solbakken, the head coach of the Norway national football team, has launched a fierce critique of the procedures in place for the World Cup in the United States, labeling the atmosphere as one of general hypocrisy. His comments follow the detention of Ayman Hussein, a striker for the Iraq national team.

According to CBS News, Hussein was held for seven hours by U.S. Customs and Border Protection upon his arrival in the United States with the Iraqi delegation.

Solbakken commented on the incident, stating, “We all agree that what happened was unnecessary and that many aspects could have been handled differently, but we are all hypocrites.”.

He added, “Nevertheless, the World Cup is being held here, and we are here to play football.”.

These remarks come just days before Norway’s much-anticipated return to the World Cup after a 28-year absence since their last appearance in 1998.

Norway will kick off their tournament campaign against Iraq on June 16, followed by a match against Senegal on June 22, and a challenging encounter with France on June 26 as part of Group Nine.