Norway was returning to a World Cup after 28 years. They were ahead against England in the quarterfinals when Alexander Sørloth had the ball with Erling Haaland alone in front of the goalkeeper. He decided to shoot himself. His shot was blocked, England equalized minutes later through Jude Bellingham and ended up winning 2-1 in extra time.
One play. That was enough for thousands of people to turn against him and his family. Lena Selnes, his partner, shared screenshots on Instagram of the messages that began to arrive: death threats, insults, demands that he kill himself, and even wishes for harm to come to his children. Sørloth’s posts surpassed 100,000 offensive comments.
Selnes announced that she will take legal action against the accounts responsible for the most serious messages. Sørloth, for his part, only said that it was a difficult moment and that he hopes for new opportunities. How long will football continue to pay these prices? ⚽💔