TNT Sports
Norway 'played like women'
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Published 16/11/2005 at 12:06 GMT
Norway have been accused by their coach of playing like "women in high heels" when they lost 1-0 to the Czech Republic in the first leg of a World Cup playoff. "We were too much like ladies in the game at Ullevaal" stadium in Oslo on Saturday, Age Hareide
Eurosport
Image credit: TNT Sports
"High heels and soccer boots ... we tiptoed around on high heels."
Members of Norway's women's soccer team, who won gold at the Sydney Olympics and were runners-up in this year's European championship, said Hareide was unfair and sexist.
"I think this is rather unprofessional," said midfielder Solveig Guldbrandsen. Hareide's view of women was "a bit frightening ... maybe he should have seen what we did in the European Championship. I don't think that was only tiptoeing."
The Norwegian Football Association spoke to Hareide about the remarks and concluded he meant no offence. "He always tries to give images to explain what he means and it doesn't always come out so successfully," spokesman Roger Solheim said.
Lise Klavenes of the women's team said she agreed with Hareide if he was comparing Norway's team on Saturday with the soccer standards of women "like my mother or grandmother".
"If he's referring to the women's national team, my comment is that it's a long time since we played such a bad game as the boys did against the Czech Republic on Saturday," she said.
The return leg is played later on Wednesday and the winners of the tie will qualify for the 2006 finals in Germany.
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