Norway Soccer Match Scuttled as Fans Throw Fish Cakes on Pitch
Smoke Bombs, Tennis Balls Also Thrown by Unruly Crowd
Soccer fans misbehaving is nothing new. Those in the crowd at a recent Rosenborg-Lillestrom match took acting out to a new level. The VAR protest incident included throwing fish cakes on the pitch? Sheesh.
Kampen mellom Rosenborg og Lillestrøm er avlyst. pic.twitter.com/6Tmy3Nhwmb
— Fotball Norge (@FotballNO) July 21, 2024
Fans upset over VAR (Video Assistant Replay) decided they had enough after four VARs in the first 30 minutes during the VAR protest incident.
The disruption began with a two-minute tossing of fish cakes, sending referees and players scurrying to their locker rooms.
“The NFF cannot accept campaigns where things are thrown onto the pitch. It is of course legitimate to be opposed to VAR. But this is not to discuss VAR, but pure sabotage of the match that goes beyond the players on the field” Norwegian Football Federation general secretary Karl-Petter Løken said in a statement.
“Clubs and others must listen to the supporters’ voice, but supporters must use legal channels for influence. Listening to supporters does not equate to giving them their way. That is not how a democracy works. When supporters sabotage the game in violation of football’s regulations, it does not provide grounds for discussions.”
Rosenborg vs Lillestrom’s match was called off after fans protested from both sets of fans because they don’t like VAR 
Items thrown onto the pitch include tennis balls, smoke bombs and… fishcakes.
Flamengo awarded the strangest penalty you’ll most certainly see all year… pic.twitter.com/mo07vtrkRr
— Lilian Chan (@bestgug) July 21, 2024
Fish cakes are to Norway matches, it seems, as hot dogs are in events in the USA. In Norway, people fry and serve them with potatoes or pasta, broccoli, and raw grated carrots.
Behavior Gets Worse
When officials and players returned, fans decided they had not protested enough. Up next were a barrage of tennis balls and smoke bombs. That led to the prudent decision to call off the match for everyone on the pitch’s safety due to the ongoing VAR protest incident.
In soccer news, fans protested in June over VAR by bombarding players and officials with tennis balls. A supporter of Lillestrom tried to justify the behavior then.
- “It took three minutes to clean up, which is half the time of a typical VAR situation.”
- “It was our way of showing our dissatisfaction.”
- “Everyone in Norway knows that we are against VAR. People are getting tired of it.”
- “There is no improvement. It is ultimately ruining our sport.”
VAR will stay through next season in Norway as recently approved again.
Don’t expect sportsbooks to offer betting odds on how many fish cakes fans will throw on the pitch at upcoming matches.. Though such fan behavior will create havoc with those sports bettors who play soccer matches in Norway.
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