Wicelandic Post

When I was a student at a university in the US, the women’s soccer coach was fired from his job for pushing a player. This despite his record of leading the team to the final four in consecutive seasons. This was eight years ago and he still hasn’t been able to find another job as a soccer coach since.

I have coached soccer on the side for seven years and now have a UEFA-A coaching licence. When I lost my second job at the second doomed company I worked for last year I was offered a full-time coaching position at the club I’d been working for. I absolutely love the change from working on the “Icelandic economic miracle”.

But sports can offer a reflection of the society we live in. And during a U-16 game earlier this year an incident happened, with consequences that are in hindsight typically Icelandic. With just over 15 minutes played, the referee warned the players that he would start calling wrong throw-ins. Tensions were high, as the two teams were neighbors with a bit of rivalry. The next throw in was for the opponents but the player made a wrong one. When the referee made the call, the 27 year old opposition coach ran onto the field and gave him an x-rated earful. The ref answered with a harsh warning and play resumed. The ball went upfield where my winger was pulled down by a marker right next to the other team’s substitutes’ box. The coach lost his rag and kept shouting obscenities at the referee who then showed him a red card.

What happened next is ugly enough in a sporting context but keep in mind that the players on the field were 14-16 year olds. The coach kicked the ball full force into the referee and then proceeded to hit him in the side. Leaving the field he threatened to wait for him and kill him. Play resumed in a tough but fair match which was incidentally won by the opposition, 1-0 with a goal three minutes from time.

The aftermath might explain a lot about Icelandic society and why crimes do go unpunished and people in position of power never resign.

The referee and the linesmen left the field into the clubhouse to fill out the FA forms. While discussing the incident, the coach popped up from behind a counter where he was hiding and pleaded with them to not include this in their report. He told them he was on some sort of a probation within his club. Later it turned out that two weeks earlier there had been a meeting adressing similar sort of behavior on his part.

The referee was still in a state of confusion, and to add to the complexity of the situation they knew each other a little bit. So the referee wrote on the FA form that the coach had received a red card but did not describe the incident. The next morning, Channel 2 had a report on it. The referee contacted the Icelandic FA which asked for a more comprehensive report which he proceeded to write with the two linesmen. Parents at the game had also called the FA with complaints about the behaviour of the coach.

Then the Icelandic way of dealing with these kind of things took over. Officials from the coaches’ club who were at the game tried to make it look like it wasn’t as bad as described. Then the coach was interviewed on a popular radio show where he told everyone that this had been blown out of proportion and that he was somehow a victim of a smear-campaign. Then he hired a lawyer.

Normally in soccer when you hit a referee, let alone twice you can expect at least one year’s suspension, and in some cases life. Respectable clubs do not hesitate in firing coaches who resort to this kind of behaviour. But the coach and his lawyer spotted a loophole. According to strict interpretation of the Icelandic FA’s laws, only the referee’s official match report can be used as evidence. So the report was deemed invalid and he got away with a one-month ban, just in time for the official season.

His club fumbled about and removed him from the U-16 position, but he remained as their U-14 coach. Why? Because he had coached them from a young age and they were doing so well. Notably they have such talent in their ranks that any half-decent coach should be able to turn them on. Then there were stories about him having experienced difficulties in his life etc.

The referee who could have pressed criminal charges against him for assault didn’t because he thought the FA would hand him a fair punishment. Afterwards he just didn’t want anything more to do with the whole thing. And now three months later the guy is back on the bench with the U-16 team although another coach is there in the name.

So how is this relevant to the Icelandic economic situation?

-    Unruly behavior is often swept under the carpet in Iceland. A drunk man who hits someone is dragged away by his friends, who excuse his behaviour with the amount he’s had to drink or some sort of incident which is supposed to justify it, a divorce, a death in the family etc. No expense is spared in making the victim feel guilty if he tries to prosecute the offender. That is why Glitnir CEO Birna Einarsdottir tells a sobbing story of cancer and her home being splashed with paint in this weekend’s DV. That is why the former owners of the banks talk endlessly about people’s ire affecting their poor families. That is how Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson managed to play himself a “victim” after being sentenced in the Hafskip scandal in 1980’s and returning as a prodigal son of the Independence Party to acquire Landsbankinn, through a company called Samson no less.

-    When official institutions try to do their job, they are confronted with agressive lawyers who will shamelessly pull any trick in the book. For the FA in this instance, read the Financial Authorities. And now the Bjorgolfur father and son destruction team has issued a statement excusing the incredible loans made to them through Landsbankinn with technicalities.

-    Interconnectedness skewes the picture in difficult matters. It was understandable that the referee felt sorry for the guy he knew and therefore excused his behavior to begin with. And here you can echo the accusations made by Eva Joly towards Valtyr Sigurdsson, State Prosecutor whose son is a CEO of Exista. Valtyr just doesn’t get it, too many in Iceland don’t, and even more use it to their advantage.

-    With great powers comes great responsibility. And from a crappy movie come great words to live by. The coaches behavior was outrageous on every count, but his players, all under the age of 16 were not told by their parents or officials of the club that this had been wrong. Instead they were quick to make excuses for him and they had him exalted to a victim’s status in no time. He has never made an apology to the opposition for his behavior. By allowing him to continue, his club and the parents of the players have taken a stand against respect for the game, and with violence and disrespect towards referees.
Resignations have been few and far between since the economic crash. Before the crash Icelandic politicians just did not resign. Gudmundur Arni Stefansson, MP for the Democrats resigned in the 1990’s and was rewarded with an ambassador position, from the opposition party leaders. Arni Johnsen, MP for the Independence Party was forced to resign earlier this decade for embezzlement but after serving time he went to audacious lenghts to get a pardon and his “honor restored”, unusal for anyone who’s served time in Iceland but easy when your friends hold the executive powers. Bjorgvin G. Sigurdsson was asleep as a Minister of Commerce last year and resigned the day before all hell broke loose in January, most likely to play the resurrected victim in the next parliamentary elections. In which he succeeded.

Unfortunately the way the country deals with its bullies and criminals is dangerous to the society. When pillars of justice, fairness and responsibility are constantly being bombarded, it is no surprise to see the foundations collapse as they have and will continue to do so if not addressed correctly.