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Norway coach Staale Solbakken criticizes general 'hypocrisy' surrounding 2026 World Cup
via SeneNews4 min read
Norway's national team coach, Staale Solbakken, has denounced a general "hypocrisy" surrounding the 2026 World Cup, following an incident involving an Iraqi player upon his arrival in the United States. Solbakken's remarks came during a press conference in Greensboro, North Carolina, where Norway has established its base camp. He was asked about Aymen Hussein, a star striker for Iraq, who was reportedly detained for seven hours by US customs and border police agents at Chicago airport. Solbakken stated, "We all agree that it's unnecessary, that many things could be done differently, but we are all hypocrites." He added, "But a World Cup is organized here and we are here to play football." When pressed on what he meant by "many things" that could have been different, he replied, "everything, from the fact that the host country is at war with another nation to difficulties like the one we just discussed." Norway, participating in its first World Cup since 1998, is scheduled to play Iraq on June 16, Senegal on June 22, and France on June 26.
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This summary was AI-generated from a story originally published by SeneNews.
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