We all love a good footballing hero story and this week it’s former Brentford and Leeds United defender Pontus Jansson, who has been standing up to the police.
Fotboll Skanalen cover comments from the player today, who currently plays for Malmö FF in Sweden after spells in England with Brentford and Leeds.
He joined the Swedish in July last year after deciding to leave Brentford, where he had established himself as a firm fan favourite after leaving Leeds in a €6.15m deal in July 2019.
He’s now very much enjoying life back in his homeland and at 33-years-old isn’t afraid to speak his mind should the situation require it.
Well, it seems he’s decided it does require it, with Fotboll Skanalen covering quotes from him today and his criticism of the local police.
They’ve found themselves under fire after recent disturbances before and after the Allsvenskan clash between Malmö and Hammarby on Saturday.
The law enforcement at the game have been accused of ‘harassment of innocent supporters and abuse’ according to outlet, which led to a meeting between Malmö, their supporters’ club and the police to find out what happened.
Jansson, who is captain at the club, has gone out of his way to get the details himself and it seems the former Brentford and Leeds man is less than impressed by what he’s heard.
“Sometimes I also feel from my own side that it is difficult to say something, because I am the team captain and represent Malmö FF. It’s my employer and I have to be careful what I say. But at the same time, I also have to feel: What do I have to lose?
“My whole passion for football is this. It’s Malmö FF, it’s the supporter culture. If it were to disappear, what would I have left? Nothing.
”It is not an easy situation. I have friends on all sides. Within the heaviest ultras, friends who stand on the seat, my parents who have a different view on it and so on.
”There are a lot of impressions to take in, but if I hadn’t played football in Malmö FF, I would have been on the stand myself. Somehow I also have to bring their voice, and what I myself feel deep down.
“Not everything is the police’s fault. It’s everyone’s, everyone gets to look at themselves in the mirror. But again, it could have been handled in a much better way. As such, will one march again? It is doubtful. It happened in Hammarby, it happened here.
“Okay, next time – are the police going to start going up to our stands and arresting people there? Okay, then we have this problem and it’s going to be complete chaos. Then it is not far from the first death in Swedish football (in the stands), and do we want it that way? No, we don’t want that.”
Pontus Jansson has been a huge Malmö fan since he was a child and when he got time off from Leeds United and Brentford he would often travel back to attend games and even chant with fellow supporters.
