Striker Sorloth faces online abuse after Norway's exit from World Cup

Norway's national football team forward Alexander Sørloth has become the target of intense online abuse following the team's World Cup quarter-final defeat to England. The hostile messages, some of which urged the player to harm himself, emerged after a critical moment in the match.

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It is tragic. That is the world we live in. I tell the boys to stay away from social media, especially on days like this.

During the game, while Norway was leading 1-0, Sørloth opted to shoot during a two-on-one counter-attack instead of passing to a seemingly unmarked teammate Erling Haaland. Sørloth's shot was blocked, and England subsequently equalized minutes later, eventually winning the match 2-1 in extra time.

Sørloth's partner, Lena Selnes, shared screenshots on Instagram illustrating the severity of the online attacks. Norway's manager, Ståle Solbakken, addressed the issue at a press conference, describing the abuse as "tragic" and "completely devoid of sense on every possible level." He advised his players to stay off social media, particularly after such disappointing results.

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There is nothing more to say about it other than it is completely devoid of sense on every possible level.

Following the match, Sørloth defended his decision, explaining that the passing lane to Haaland had been closed off by an English defender. "The only thing I wanted to do in that situation was to pass to Erling," Sørloth stated. "But it felt like the pass wasn't there, so I went to shoot."

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The only thing I wanted to do in that situation was to pass to Erling. But it felt like the pass wasn't there, so I went to shoot.