Norway Winger Schjelderup Faces Conviction Over 'Stupid Mistake' Sharing Illegal Video

Norway’s Vikings winger faces conviction for sharing an illegal video from his time in Denmark.

Norway international Andreas Schjelderup is facing conviction in Denmark for illegally sharing a video, an act he has admitted to and publicly apologised for in a statement.

The 21-year-old Benfica winger’s admission comes at a critical time for his country. 

Schjelderup was recently included in Norway’s 24-man squad for this week’s crucial World Cup qualifying matches against Estonia and Italy, which could see the nation reach the tournament finals for the first time since 1998.

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In a statement posted to his Instagram account on Saturday, Schjelderup admitted to a “stupid mistake” he made when he was 19 and playing for Danish Superliga side Nordsjaelland.

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

“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.”

'Ready to face the consequences'

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

He added: “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 officially known what the video contained, but the player described it as “what appeared to be two young men in an old-quality video” which he sent “without thinking”

His statement follows recent 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.

Schjelderup confirmed he had co-operated with 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.

'An incredibly foolish thing'

The young star has received backing from his national team manager, Stale Solbakken, who spoke about the incident on Saturday.

Solbakken confirmed 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.”

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

Norway are currently on the verge of a historic World Cup appearance, leading their qualifying group by three points with just two matches remaining.

Schjelderup acknowledged the timing of the news, expressing regret for the disruption to the team’s preparations.

“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,” he wrote.

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