Aston Villa‘s Victor Lindelöf has given two reasons for not speaking to reporters in the mixed zone after Sweden’s 1-1 draw against Bosnia and Herzegovina on October 2nd.
The Aston Villa man has worn the armband since 2021 and continues to do so during this international break.
Sweden won their first two UEFA Nations League matches against Romania and Poland. The centre-back got his name on the scoresheet in the 3-1 win over Poland.
On Friday, Arsenal striker Viktor Gyökeres gave his country the lead against Bosnia in the 61st minute.
Referee Oleksiy Derevinskyi awarded Bosnia a free-kick in the final quarter for a foul from Leeds United’s Gabriel Gudmundsson. Juventus star Kerim Alajbegović converted the free-kick in the 80th minute.
Sweden have argued Gudmundsson didn’t commit the foul and instead, he was the one at the receiving end. After the match, Lindelöf didn’t stop and speak to reporters in the mixed zone.
Aston Villa player responds
Sweden will face Romania later today. The 32-year-old attended the pre-match presser on Sunday and Fotbollskanalen have relayed his comments.
The outlet states: ‘It is customary for national team players to speak to the media after matches. Not least the captain.’
The Aston Villa defender partly blamed the media for not stopping after the draw against Bosnia.
“I was very frustrated; I wanted to win the match. That was one reason, but I didn’t hear anyone calling out to me either. I’m not going to queue up just because someone wants to talk. Those were the two factors,” he said.
“I thought we played well and deserved three points. It was a combination of those things.”
In hindsight, the former Manchester United man is happy to have swerved the media.
“I don’t think the referee’s standard was particularly high,” Lindelöf explained.
“It was a contributing factor [referee awarding the free-kick], absolutely. It’s done and dusted now. Perhaps it was a good thing I didn’t stay; otherwise, I might have said something stupid.”
Aston Villa player making news in Sweden
A year ago, Swedish supporters booed their own players after the home defeat to Kosovo.
At that time, Victor Lindelöf said the fans’ reaction didn’t bother him. A month later, the Aston Villa man half apologised for his comments about the supporters.
Taking this into account, Victor Lindelöf would have made his frustrations clear, had he stopped to speak to the reporters last Friday.
