5 hours agoSwedish Federation Condemns Threats to Players, Staff After Kosovo Loss
Periskopi(9 months ago)
(9 months ago)Sweden has experienced a difficult start in qualifications for the 2026 World Cup. After a 2.2 draw to Slovenia, the Swedish national suffered a surprising 2:0 loss from Kosovo on Monday at the “Fadil Vokri” in Pristina. Sudden defeat has caused strong reactions in Sweden, where some fans have used social media for [...]
Sweden has experienced a difficult start in qualifications for the 2026 World Cup. After a 2.2 draw to Slovenia, the Swedish national suffered a surprising 2:0 loss from Kosovo on Monday at the “Fadil Vokri” in Pristina.
Sudden defeat has triggered strong reactions in Sweden, where some fans have used social media to attack players and national team leaders. Comments have gone up to threats and racist insults, forcing the Swedish Football Federation to take measures.
Swedish Federation to head for police
On 18 September, the Swedish Federation identified some of the commentators involved and decided to report to the police.
There are many comments over the line, but not all are automatically punishable. However, a number of them pose illegal threats and harassment,” said Martin Fredman, the Federation security manager, for “Fotballskalen”.
He added that the published threats have affected players and staff.
The “is an illegal threat when it threatens someone to fear or feel hurt. This includes threats to someone's life or the desire to harm someone. ”
Racism Will Not Be Tolerated
The Swedish Federation has also reported that one of the players has been the victim of racial insults on social networks. We will consider this case and move it forward,” said Fredman. “We take very seriously any act of racism and incentives against ethnic groups. ”
Fredman has refused to identify the players or staff involved, adding:
It's run in different directions, so I don't want to give names. But we've analyzed federation accounts as well as players and trainers. ”
Future Faces
After these incidents, Sweden will seek to turn the focus on football. The Swedish national will host Switzerland on 10 October in Solana and Kosovo on 13 October in Goteborg under the qualifications for World 2026.
The Swedish Federation stresses that the safety and protection of players remain a priority, and that threats or racial insults against staff and national abuse will not be tolerated.
