Norwegian Footballer Faces Charges for Sharing Illegal Video

The 21-year-old Benfica winger posted a statement on his Instagram account on Saturday, admitting to a "stupid mistake" he made while playing for Danish Superliga team  Nordsjaelland at the age of 19.

The statement comes after he was included in Norway's 24-man squad for crucial World Cup qualifying matches against Estonia and Italy this week, where Norway could qualify for the tournament for the first time since 1998.

Schjelderup said he received a video and shared it with a friend without full knowledge, and immediately deleted it as soon as he was informed of its contents.

"What I did in Denmark at that time was illegal and not OK. I will take full responsibility for it," he wrote.

"I would like to apologise first and foremost to those affected by the video. Then to my friends, family, employers, country and all the fans I have disappointed.

"I wish I could go back in time and change my mistake. I have never done anything illegal before, or been involved with the police, so I have been in shock for a long time while this has been going on."

He said he was "ready to face the consequences" and urged people not to "watch or spread videos with harmful or offensive content".

"The offence I will be convicted for does not reflect on who I am as a person and what I stand for."

It is not known what the video contained, but Schjelderup said it was "what appeared to be two young men in an old-quality video" which he sent "without thinking".

He said he "only saw the first few seconds and not what the video developed into".

Schjelderup said he had cooperated with Danish police and was charged with the crime. He said he would be convicted "in the near future" and is likely to receive a suspended sentence.

Danish media reported the player is scheduled to appear in court later this month.

His statement comes after press coverage in Denmark alleged that an unnamed footballer has been charged with a crime related to possessing or sharing sexually explicit material involving people under the age of 18.

Portuguese club Benfica president Rui Costa has reportedly said the club will support Schjelderup.

Speaking on Saturday, Norway manager Ståle Solbakken said he had spoken to Schjelderup, who had committed "an extremely foolish act."

He added: "He has acknowledged the incident that happened two years ago and is taking responsibility for his actions."

"I have full confidence that he has learned from this and that he will never do anything like it again.

"This is a tough situation for Andreas, so we need to take good care of him when he joins the team on Monday."

Norway are on the verge of a first appearance at the World Cup since 1998, leading their qualifying group by three points with two matches remaining.

Schjelderup added: "I also know this will be an unneeded disturbance to the national team of Norway before some of the most important games in our history.

"My intention was to share this after the games to avoid that. But unfortunately, that is not possible any more."