Russia, last year’s Olympic silver medalist after beating Norway in the semi-finals, would be the clear medal candidate in the EC if the team were allowed to participate. Hostilities in Ukraine stopped Russia. They were sent off after two of the six qualifying matches.
– The most important thing for us is to be consistent in the decisions that have been made so far and keep Russian athletes and leaders away from the regime of Vladimir Putin. We have to stick to it so that Ukraine can feel that support and public opinion in Russia can see that we are serious, handball president Lio told NTB.
– Is there anything in international handball that suggests Russia will come in again?
– Not as I see it now, but I think we should always be vigilant. Because surviving in such a situation can be demanding. Norwegian sport is very good here. It’s easy to survive as part of Norwegian sport, says Lio.
The captain of the Norwegian national team Stine Bredal Oftedal on the signs against Russia: – Rarely do we use such means in the championship. We have a sign for Ukraine in March (during the international match against Montenegro). “There is no doubt that we were responsible for what we did at that time,” he told NTB.
Norway came to the field in a T-shirt with the Ukrainian flag and the words “no war”.
Norway plays all of its matches in the EC in Slovenia. Montenegro and North Macedonia are co-organizers.
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