Bodø / Glimt coach Kjetil Knutsen was criticized for the way he chose to express himself after the trip home from Rome.

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About a day after his Bodø / Glimt lost 0-4 against Roma in the eternal city – with Knutsen in the stands after a tunnel fight with Roma goalkeeping coach Nuno Santos – Bodø / Glimt coach Kjetil Knutsen spoke with NRK on Friday night.

– What I have been involved in is abuse. I want to use such strong words. There’s an ambivalent feeling to standing in it, but now I’m done with it, adds Knutsen NRK when he landed at Bodo airport on Friday night.

On social media, Knutsen has received criticism from some for calling it “harassment”.

Among them are Bodø / Glimt Gard L. Michalsen, who has previously been the editor of E24 and Medier24, among others.

Kjetil Knutsen’s treatment in the past week was not “abuse”. Maybe he experienced it, but should never have said it. This devalues ​​the word reserved for more serious cases with real victims. For some, such vocabulary could be considered impolite”, wrote Michalsen Indonesia.

In a Twitter thread, he discussed the way Bodø/Glimt communicated after the commotion on Aspmyra last Thursday.

– Football clubs like Glimt, who are very professional in all areas, work surprisingly unprofessionally and strategically with their communications, Michalsen explained to VG – and continued:

– As a Glimt fan, I let myself be involved after the tunnel noise, I was in the stadium both games, but Glimt definitely didn’t stay calm through communication. They really fell for being so loud and dark about the video that it turned out to be nothing. And when Knutsen uses words like “abuse” it’s stupid for a variety of reasons.

– And there’s a lot to think about about Roma’s foul play and UEFA’s treatment, but using a word like “abuse” doesn’t fit this context. It’s a word that means much more seriously, and for many it would also be considered negative that it was used about conflicts in top-flight sports between soccer players and privileged coaches, Michalsen believes.

– Huge respect for KK, but this is starting to remind someone who doesn’t fully “tune in” to the realities of European football, wrote Tor-Kristian Karlsen on Twitter about Kjetil Knutsen’s remarks.

Karlsen has worked for a number of international clubs, such as Bayer Leverkusen, Watford, Hannover 96 and Monaco, as a scout or sporting director. He wrote in a message to VG that he did not want to elaborate further on the Twitter message.

VG has tried to get comment from Kjetil Knutsen via the Bodø/Glimt media team, but Knutsen has given notice that he has no comment on the case. However, the club’s general manager, Frode Thomassen, stated the following:

“The use of the term ‘abuse’ is not reserved for any particular group in society. Analogously it can be said that if a person experiences bullying at work/school then that is by definition bullying, someone is physically assaulted and harassed from time to time, then it is harassment » .

Knutsen has the support of university lecturer Dag Inge Fjeld of Kristena University College, who teaches in advertising and marketing. He considered the case did not damage the reputation of coach Glimt.

– My reaction when I saw him being referred to the stands, was that this was so unfair. Unreasonable is the word I think, unreasonable and unfair. When he later said that it was harassment, I think most people thought that it was harassment of him as a coach, said Fjeld, adding that it is a concept that carries other connotations.

– A lot of people might react to the use of a more classic term?

– That’s what happened. I don’t think there’s anything to make so much noise about. I think most people sympathize with Knutsen. That it was the little Bodø / Glimt, a sensational team in Europe, who were of course the target of mockery and some form of conspiracy by Mourinho. There’s something rotten about it all. This is the successful coach “poor” Knutsen of one of Europe’s most “Askeladden teams”. Then I think it should be allowed to say that he feels this is harassment. At least that’s my opinion, as a football fan, and I understand where you want to go, but I think it would make one feather for five chickens.