OSLO, Norway (AP) – Russian soccer club Dynamo Moscow said Norwegian midfielder Mathias Normann terminated his contract with the team and left Russia after a drone strike on buildings near the neighborhood where he lived.
Normann was one of the few players from western Europe to play for a Russian club after the country’s military invasion of Ukraine started in February last year, a decision that saw him exiled from Norway’s national team.
Normann was contracted to Rostov when Russia started the war but was then on loan to Norwich in the English Premier League. He later returned to Russia to join Dynamo on loan.
FIFA passed interim rules after the war began allowing players from abroad who were then with clubs in those countries to suspend their contracts.
Dynamo chief executive Pavel Pivovarov told Sport Express in comments reported late Wednesday that Normann cited security reasons for terminating his contracts with the club and Rostov. The clubs will consider legal action, he said.
Skyscrapers in the central Moscow City neighborhood were damaged last week in drone attacks. Ukrainian authorities have not claimed responsibility for the operations.
The Norwegian soccer federation said last September it had agreed with national team coach Ståle Solbakken not to select Normann for international games. Normann played 12 times for the national team, alongside stars Erling Haaland and Martin Ødegaard.