Big problem for Icelandic football! Federation leadership resigns, sponsors want to cut funding

If until relatively recently it seemed that football in Iceland was on the rise, now, paradoxically, the opposite could be true. Two footballers have committed sexual harassment of women. But it all goes deeper than that.

Icelandic football is now rocked by a huge scandal. Two prominent members of the national team are facing allegations of violence and sexual abuse against women. Namely Kolbeinn Sigthórsson and Gylfi Sigurdsson. At least the latter will be familiar to every Premier League fan.

The former is now free, but the club (IFK Göteborg) have sent him on indefinite leave, and the fans want his contract to be terminated. Sigurdsson will be in custody until at least 16 October.

But it doesn’t stop with these footballers. Almost the entire leadership of the local football association has now resigned. The reason is simple. It was discovered that when two women were assaulted in Reykjavik by a national team member who has not been named, the association tried to compensate the women only to be promised secrecy.

It is worth mentioning that Iceland is a country that is considered to be the best place for a woman to live. In terms of gender equality, Iceland is simply number one. That makes this whole scandal all the bigger and therefore has huge implications.

Given the way Icelandic society operates, football there is in danger of falling even further after a significant rise. In fact, the sponsors want to stop or at least significantly reduce funding for Icelandic football.

Brands such as Coca Cola and Vodafone are among the companies considering the move. According to the new head of the Icelandic Football Association, there now needs to be a thorough cleansing.

Source: BBC, DW, Icelandic Football CZ/SK