There were seconds left before halftime. Norway were winning 1-0, Alexander Sorloth had Erling Haaland alone on the other side and decided to shoot himself. The ball was blocked, England equalized minutes later and ended up winning in extra time, knocking Norway out of the 2026 World Cup.
What followed had nothing to do with football. Lena Selnes, Sorloth’s partner and mother of his two children, said on Instagram that messages began arriving telling the player never to play again, along with death threats directed at her and her children. According to Infobae, the striker’s posts received more than 100,000 hateful comments.
Selnes has already announced legal action against the accounts responsible. Norway’s head coach himself, Stale Solbakken, described it all as “tragic” and advised young players to stay away from social media. One missed shot, and suddenly an entire family under attack.
