Former Brann player Robert Taylor sparked outrage when he refused to play for Finland in Thursday's fateful EC clash against Wales. Now he explains himself.
Taylor, who also has a past in Tromsø, plays daily with Lionel Messi at Inter Miami. In the opening match of the series against Real Salt Lake City, the Finn made it 1-0 after a pass from Messi.
That's why many people were surprised by the news on Sunday that the 29-year-old will not be present when Finland play for a European Championship ticket on Thursday. On social media, he became Taylor Called “traitor”.».
Taylor missed the decisive penalty as Brann lost to Jerv and were relegated to the Opus League in 2021:
12 teams are competing for the last three places in the European Championship. This is how the Nations League qualifiers work:
“Path A”:
Semi-finals: Estonia – Poland, Finland – Wales. The winner ends up in Group D with the Netherlands, Austria and France.
“Path B”:
Semi-finals: Israel – Iceland, Bosnia and Herzegovina – Ukraine. The winner of Group E ends with Belgium, Slovakia and Romania.
“Path C”:
Semi-finals: Georgia – Luxembourg and Greece – Kazakhstan. The winner goes to the European Commission and ends up in Group F with Turkey, the Czech Republic and Portugal.
On Monday night, the Inter Miami player posted a longer explanation on Instagram:
– For personal reasons, including protecting my body from injury due to the club team's tight schedule and demanding travel during this international window, I have decided to unsubscribe, but I will fully support Finland from now on, writes the man. 34 international matches on Instagram.
The match against Wales is a semi-final match in the European Championship qualifiers. In the event of victory, the final match awaits us to reserve a place in the European Union against Poland or Estonia on Tuesday, March 26.
Inter Miami plays a back-to-back on March 23 against the New York Red Bulls. This is the only match Taylor might miss if he is part of the Finnish national team.
After five rounds of the series, Inter Miami is at the top of the standings MLS East Division.
– Because this decision was so difficult to make, arriving at this solution took longer than expected. He added: “I know that this put the team in a difficult position, so I want to apologize to my teammates and coaches.”
– I strongly believe that in these very important matches, Finland needs players who are 100% fit, so that we can secure a place in the European Group. It was selfish of me to take that chance away from another player,” Taylor further wrote.
Finnish national team manager Marko Kanerva has not yet commented on Taylor's absence.
Not everyone back home is similarly disappointed by Taylor's absence. In a comment in Helsingin Sanotum, Jan Oyivio wrote that “Taylor's not good enough to cry over.”
“Infuriatingly humble internet trailblazer. Twitter buff. Beer nerd. Bacon scholar. Coffee practitioner.”
