NEW JERSEY. No one in the Swedish team understood what was happening.
They were not at all happy with the way the judges acted.
– I don’t know what the judge was doing, says Benjamin Nygren, 24.
Taha Ali and Besfort Zeneli were ready to jump in against France.
The Swedish duo stood and waited on the sidelines. But the wait was long.
So long that they began to question the actions of the judges.
Did it feel like you had to wait a long time?
– It was very unclear between the fourth and fifth referee and the referee on the pitch. It felt like they had no communication at all, says Besfort Zeneli.
“It was a bit strange”
The Swedes think that there were several interruptions where the duo could have been replaced.
– We stood there nagging. I didn’t really understand what happened there, says Zeneli.
What did you say then?
– That they (the referees) were going to take the substitution several times and then they complained that Anthony (Elanga) takes a quick throw-in, but the referee could just blow off and make the substitutions so it was a bit strange.
Nygren’s criticism
Even when Mattias Svanberg and Benjamin Nygren were to be replaced later in the match, it was a similar situation with a long wait.
– We were going to change and then the referee asked if we were ready and I said yes. Then we’ll switch and they start playing. I don’t know what the judge was actually doing, says Nygren.
Zeneli is critical of how it happened.
– When you have to wait once or twice, it becomes a bit, not frivolous, but almost like that, says Zeneli.
Sweden lost against France with 0–3 and is eliminated from the WC.
The national team
