‘The Viking clap is ruined ceaselessly’

They have been the nation that gained the hearts and minds of soccer followers in every single place. The smallest nation to ever qualify for a World Cup finals and the group that humbled England at Euro 2016. An element-time dentist was within the dugout and a Viking thunderclap tumbled down from the stands. Keep in mind Iceland?

On a moist Friday night in Reykjavik, on the finish of per week right here, that footballing fairytale seems like a very long time in the past. Iceland are enjoying Armenia in a World Cup qualifier at their nationwide stadium and there are empty seats in every single place you look. The attendance is later confirmed as 1,697 — Iceland’s lowest crowd for a aggressive fixture since 1997. 

Iceland have misplaced 11 of their earlier 16 aggressive matches and don’t have any likelihood of qualifying for subsequent yr’s World Cup finals, however that isn’t the story right here. The sobering backdrop to Armenia’s go to is an off-the-field scandal that has introduced Icelandic soccer to its knees and tarnished the legacy of their golden era, after it emerged {that a} collection of allegations involving sexual and bodily violence, together with an accusation of rape, have been made in opposition to a number of the nationwide group gamers. It is for that reason that The Athletic has spent the week in Iceland speaking to these concerned in what’s a horrible, deeply troubling story.

Plunged right into a state of disaster on the finish of August, the Icelandic Soccer Affiliation (KSI) imploded. Inside the house of 24 hours, the KSI president Gudni Bergsson resigned and 15 board members adopted him amid acrimony, tears and claims of a cover-up.

In a rustic the scale of Iceland, the place the inhabitants is lower than 400,000 and the soccer group’s success has been such an enormous supply of nationwide pleasure, this story has consumed individuals.