Milan, 13 July (LaPresse) – Norway’s elimination in the quarter-finals of the 2026 World Cup against England has had far more serious consequences than the sporting defeat itself. Lena Selnes, the partner of striker Alexander Sørloth and mother of his two children, has announced that she will take legal action after receiving a series of offensive and threatening messages via email and on social media, directed at both her and the Norwegian footballer. According to Marca, Selnes, who has over 40,000 followers on Instagram, has decided to break her silence by sharing screenshots of some of these messages in her stories, thereby highlighting a form of harassment that goes far beyond mere sporting criticism. The messages collected by Selnes herself reflect the severity of the attack she has suffered. Among them, one directly urged the footballer to take his own life, whilst another urged him to leave the country and “throw himself off a cliff”. The Norwegian national team manager, Stale Solbakken, also commented on the situation, describing it as tragic and acknowledging that, unfortunately, incidents of this kind are part of the current reality of elite sport. The manager took the opportunity to offer some advice to the younger players in his squad, recommending that they stay as far away from social media as possible to protect themselves from such attacks.
2026 World Cup: Norway knocked out; online threats against Sørloth and his partner
Milan, 13 July (LaPresse) – Norway’s elimination in the quarter-finals of the 2026 World Cup against England has had far more serious consequences than the sporting defeat itself. Lena Selnes, the partner of striker Alexander Sørloth and mother of his two children, has announced that she will take legal action after receiving a series of offensive and threatening messages via email and on social media, directed at both her and the Norwegian footballer. According to Marca, Selnes, who has over 40,000 followers on Instagram, has decided to break her silence by sharing screenshots of some of these messages in her stories, thereby highlighting a form of harassment that goes far beyond mere sporting criticism. The messages collected by Selnes herself reflect the severity of the attack she has suffered. Among them, one directly urged the footballer to take his own life, whilst another urged him to leave the country and “throw himself off a cliff”. The Norwegian national team manager, Stale Solbakken, also commented on the situation, describing it as tragic and acknowledging that, unfortunately, incidents of this kind are part of the current reality of elite sport. The manager took the opportunity to offer some advice to the younger players in his squad, recommending that they stay as far away from social media as possible to protect themselves from such attacks.
