Maurizio Viscidi, coordinator of the men’s youth national teams, spoke to Raisport and he also wanted to clarify the episode that saw Willy Gnonto framed on the bench with a smartphone in his hand during the Under 21 friendly against their peers from San Marino:
“Willy was substituted at the end of the first half because we were ahead and he was on a yellow card, and he was too important for Norway. When he was returning from the dressing room to the pitch, he received a message from his alarmed club, wondering why he had been substituted in such a match. So he certainly couldn’t have sent the message all the way, there are quite a few metres from the dressing room to the bench. When he got to the bench, he wanted to reassure his club that the substitution was a substitution to avoid the risk of disqualification. The timing may have been wrong, maybe yes, but at the same time it’s an act of respect towards the club to reassure them”.