A professional footballer in Norway was sent off for calling an opposition player ‘gay’ in a recent second-tier clash.
According to the BBC, Simen Juklerod of Baerum SK was given a straight red card for calling an opponent ‘gay’ in a clash with Sandnes Ulf as Norwegian referees continue their clampdown on homophic behaviour.
Juklerod was pulled up for saying the word by referee Anders Gjermshus as Baerum SK lined-up a free-kick on the edge of the Sandnes Ulf area.
It is not known if Juklerod was aiming it towards any specific player as Sandnes Ulf were in the process of forming a defensive wall at the time.
“There was a second I was not thinking, and said the second word (gay), yes,” Juklerod said of his sending off.
“Of course it’s completely lame. But I still think that’s not a red card.”
Terje Hague, head of referees in Norway recently said that using the word ‘gay’ “in an insulting or offensive manner” would lead to a red card.
“It is something that’s been discussed several times after an incident a couple of years ago when a yellow card was given in a similar situation,” said Hague, a former Champions League and World Cup referee.
“We’ve told our referees that if they hear it clearly and there is no doubt about what’s been said then it should be punished with a red card”.
Vi aksepterer IKKE at våre spillere kaller andre for homo eller lignende. Det sies mye dritt ila kamper, men vi har nulltoleranse for sånt.
— Bærum Sportsklubb (@Baerum_SK) June 7, 2015
Det var uheldig at det ble sagt og vi tar selvkritikk for hendelsen. Saken tas videre internt.
— Bærum Sportsklubb (@Baerum_SK) June 7, 2015
Vil påpeke at grunnen til de sterke reaksjonene etter kampslutt hadde ingenting med rødkortet å gjøre. D var over-overtiden som var årsaken.
— Bærum Sportsklubb (@Baerum_SK) June 7, 2015
The tweets above were sent from Baerum’s Twitter account after the match and roughly translate as follows: “We do NOT accept our players calling other players gay or something similar. They say a lot of crap during matches but we have zero tolerance for this stuff.
“It was unfortunate that it was said and we take self-criticism for the event. The case is also taken internally.
“We would like to point out that the reason for the strong reactions after the match had nothing with the sending off. Over-time was the cause.”
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