Denmark pick futsal players to avoid Euro 2020 expulsion
ByReuters
Updated 04/09/2018 at 13:18 GMT
Denmark have named a second-string squad including futsal players for this week's matches against Slovakia and Wales after contract negotiations with first-team regulars reached deadlock.
Christian Eriksen of Denmark looks dejected as the lose on penalties to Croatia during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Round of 16 match between Croatia and Denmark at Nizhny Novgorod Stadium on July 1, 2018 in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia.
Image credit: Getty Images
If the Danish Football Association (DBU) had failed to name a squad, the team, who are ninth in the world rankings and reached the last 16 at this year's World Cup, could have been thrown out of the 2020 European Championship.
Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet reported that the squad includes players from the national futsal team, a five-a-side soccer game played mainly indoors on small hard courts.
Denmark are scheduled to play Slovakia in a friendly on Wednesday and Wales in a Nations League group stage match on Sunday. Coach Aage Hareide will not be in charge of the team as the DBU does not want him to manage a side he did not pick himself.
The dispute is chiefly over the rights of players, including Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Christian Eriksen, to make individual sponsorship agreements with companies competing with national team sponsors. The players' travelling conditions are also an issue.
Earlier, Eriksen called for a truce in the extraordinary row, with the Danish Player Association (Spillerforeningen) telling the governing body that the national squad is willing to play the two games under the terms of their old agreement.
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Christian Eriksen of Denmark celebrates with Yussuf Yurary Poulsen of Denmark after scoring the opening goal during the 2018
Image credit: Getty Images
"We have to solve this conflict now, not just digging the ditches deeper,” Tottenham star Eriksen said in a statement published on the Spillerforeningen website.
"So we’re happy to stretch our hand again, even though DBU put it away in the first try. Let’s renew the old deal by one month. Then we have organised relationships right now and we are prepared to play the international matches this week.
"And then we have time after the two international matches to negotiate the entire agreement in place.
"It does not make sense if DBU does not accept that offer. The agreement has been working for years and should only run one month longer.
"Sign up and we will sit on the plane immediately. We are ready and we will play."
The DBU was not immediately reachable for comment, but rejected the same offer on Sunday.
The DBU last year had to cancel a World Cup qualifying match for the women's national team against Sweden, also due to a contract dispute.
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