Denmark risk being excluded from World Cup after cancelling qualifier with Sweden over pay dispute
The Danish women's football team will not play Sweden in the scheduled World Cup qualifier on Friday and risk being kicked out of the competition as a result
Your support helps us to tell the story
This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.
The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.
Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.
The Danish women's football team will not play Sweden in the scheduled World Cup qualifier on Friday and risk being kicked out of the competition as a dispute between the players and the Danish Football Association (DBU) has not yet been resolved.
"The DBU has today told the Swedish FA that the players of the women's national team have not gathered in order to play the game, which will now not be played," a statement read on Wednesday.
The statement also added that the FA now faces fines, points deductions and possibly expulsion from the competition because of the failure to fulfil the fixture.
The Danish players, who lost in the final of the European Championship to hosts Netherlands in August, have been engaged in tough negotiations with the DBU over compensation and conditions for female internationals.
Norway recently announced that its male and female players would receive the same pay, but talks between the DBU and the its women's team have broken down several times in recent weeks.
Denmark have so far played one match of their 2019 World Cup qualifying campaign, which was a 6-1 victory over Hungary last month. They are scheduled to play against Croatia on Tuesday.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments