SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Former Norway and Liverpool FC defender John Arne Riise has had to drop his association with Scandinavian bookmaker Betsson in order to sign for Norwegian Tippeligaen side Aalesunds FK.
Riise (35) one of Norway’s most successful footballers, had agreed to join the Ålesund football club on a free transfer at the start of March. On signing for Aalesunds FK, Riise stated to Norwegian news sources that he was delighted to re-join the club where he started his career.
However, the Norwegian Football Federation (NFF) had blocked Riise’s free transfer due to his association with unlicensed bookmaker Betsson, which breached NFF football policy.
Riise representatives had informed the NFF, that the footballer had terminated his planned summer Euro 2016 campaign with Betsson.
Nevertheless, the governing body upheld its suspension of Riise’s transfer stating that it could not license the player as his image was still directly related to an unlicensed bookmaker. The NFF demanded further full-proof that Riise had no binding connection with Betsson operations.
Following emergency meetings between Riise representatives and Betsson Group governance, both parties agreed to terminate their relationship in order to allow the player to sign for Aalesunds FK.
Betsson Group President Ulrik Bengtsson would send a public statement thanking Riise for his work with the Betsson brand and wishing him luck on joining Aalesunds FK “
“Bettson Group have voluntarily removed the future TV spots and other marketing campaigns that include John Arne Riise, so Riise now free to sign for Aalesund. We at Betsson want John Arne luck in his hometown and hope he has a wonderful ending to his football career there”.
The NFF would lift Riise suspension, allowing for the footballer to be officially presented to Aalesunds FK fans last weekend.
