Norway footballer facing conviction for sharing illegal video

Norway international Andreas Schjelderup says he is facing conviction for illegally sharing a video.

The 21-year-old Benfica winger posted a statement on his Instagram account on Saturday, admitting to a “stupid mistake” when he was 19 and playing for Danish Superliga side Nordsjaelland.

His statement comes after he was included in Norway’s 24-man squad for this week’s crucial World Cup qualifying matches against Estonia and Italy that could see the country reach the tournament for the first time since 1998.

Schjelderup said he had received a video and shared it with a friend without knowing the full content, and deleted it as soon as he was told what it contained.

“What I did in Denmark at that time was illegal and not OK. I will take full responsibility for it,” he wrote.

“I would like to apologise first and foremost to those affected by the video. Then to my friends, family, employers, country and all the fans I have disappointed.

“I wish I could go back in time and change my mistake. I have never done anything illegal before, or been involved with the police, so I have been in shock for a long time while this has been going on.”

He said he was “ready to face the consequences” and urged people not to “watch or spread videos with harmful or offensive content”.

“The offence I will be convicted for does not reflect on who I am as a person and what I stand for.”

It is not known what the video contained, but Schjelderup said it was “what appeared to be two young men in an old-quality video” which he sent “without thinking”.

He said he “only saw the first few seconds and not what the video developed into”.

Schjelderup said he had co-operated with the Danish police and was charged for the offence, saying he would be convicted “in the near future” and was likely to receive a suspended sentence.

Danish media said the player was due to appear in court later this month.

His statement follows press coverage in Denmark alleging an unnamed footballer had been charged with an offence which concerns possession or sharing of sexual material which features people under the age of 18.

Rui Costa, president of Portuguese side Benfica, has been reported as saying the club will support Schjelderup.

Speaking on Saturday, Norway manager Stale Solbakken said he has spoken to Schjelderup, who he said had done “an incredibly foolish thing”.

He added: “He has admitted the incident that took place two years ago and is taking responsibility for his actions.

“I have full confidence that he has learned from this and that he will never do anything like it again.

“This is a tough situation for Andreas, so we need to take good care of him when he joins the team on Monday.”

Norway are on the verge of a first appearance at the World Cup since 1998, leading their qualifying group by three points with two matches remaining.

Schjelderup added: “I also know this will be an unneeded disturbance to the national team of Norway before some of the most important games in our history.

“My intention was to share this after the games to avoid that. But unfortunately, that is not possible any more.”