Newspaper reports indicate that Lena Selnes, the girlfriend of Norwegian striker Alexander Sørloth, received death threats after the loss to England (1-2) and elimination from the quarter-finals of the 2026 World Cup.
Alexander Sørloth was heavily criticized for his controversial action in the 44th minute of the first half, when Norway were leading (1-0). The striker received a ball after a brilliant pass from his teammate Martin Ødegaard, who created a numerical advantage over an English defender alongside star Erling Haaland.
Sorloth decided not to pass the ball to Haaland on the left side, and tried to shoot himself. The ball was blocked by English player John Stones, and headed towards goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, at the Miami stadium in the United States of America.
Instead of Norway taking a 2-0 lead, England scored the equalizer immediately after Sørloth failed to capitalize on a scoring opportunity, intensifying the criticism against him.
The Norwegian newspaper "VG" reported that Lena Selnes, Sørloth's girlfriend, received death threats following harsh criticism directed at the Norwegian attacker.
Selness shared some of the messages she received via social media, saying: "The World Cup and football bring a lot of joy, but they also generate a lot of hatred. I didn't want to pay attention to this, but after receiving those threats, I felt I had to respond."
The posted comments included threats such as: "Tell him to jump off a cliff," "I want to kill him," and "Let's die together in a helicopter," directly endangering the safety of Sørloth and Selness.
Selness, a mother of two, appealed to officials to intervene, saying: "I hope everyone will think carefully before writing such comments, whatever he circumstances."
