Mer

Norwegian Benfica striker charged by Danish Police for sharing illegal video

ASchjelderup in action for Benfica against Vitoria SC
ASchjelderup in action for Benfica against Vitoria SC Miguel Lemos/ZUMA Press Wire / Shutterstock Editorial / Profimedia

The 21-year-old Norwegian international footballer Andreas Schjelderup from Benfica acknowledges in an Instagram post that he has been charged with sharing an illegal video with two young boys.

The acknowledgement follows in the wake of Danish media reporting that an unnamed football player had been indicted for allegedly sharing sexual material with minors.

“I would like to be open with you all about a stupid mistake I made about two years ago,” Schjelderup wrote on Saturday evening.

The Norwegian, who has played in the Superliga for FC Nordsjaelland, says that he was contacted by Danish police earlier this year in the case.

“I was charged with this violation, which I will probably be sentenced for in the near future,” he wrote.

“What I did in Denmark at the time was illegal and not okay,” he adds

Schjelderup explains that he was 19 years old when he received a video that he forwarded to a friend “without thinking clearly.”

“I only saw the first few seconds and not what the video developed into,” he writes.

“After watching it a few seconds later, my friend reminded me that, of course, it’s illegal to post, so I deleted it immediately.”

He says he didn’t think about the consequences and the seriousness of it.

“My only explanation is that I was very shocked to see what looked like two young men in an old-quality video,” he says.

The player expresses his regret over the case, which he says comes at a bad time, as Norway are set to play important World Cup qualifiers next week.

The case will be heard in Copenhagen City Court on 19 November and will be conducted as a confession case.

According to vg.no, he is charged under Section 235, Section 2, of the Danish Penal Code, which deals with possession or sharing sexual material with persons under the age of 18.