John McGinn defends Scotland after Stale Solbakken row over cancelled Norway warm-up | OneFootball

Aston Villa captain John McGinn has defended Scotland’s decision to cancel a behind-closed-doors warm-up with Norway, telling Stale Solbakken they were right to look after their own interests after Steve Clarke was called unprofessional.

According to ExpressAndStar.com, both teams are based in North Carolina for the World Cup and had arranged a 60-minute training game at Scotland’s Charlotte base on Monday. The match was called off on Sunday because of injuries in the Scotland camp.

McGinn said any side would have reacted the same after the late loss of Billy Gilmour before the squad flew to the United States. He noted some niggles in the group and that not everyone had trained, so avoiding further setbacks was the priority.

He acknowledged Norway’s frustration, adding that if they had lost Erling Haaland or Martin Odegaard in the build-up they would cancel as well.

Solbakken criticised the decision as unprofessional and complained he had not received a direct call from Clarke, saying contact came via team managers after Norway had trained. He also questioned whether the injuries cited stemmed from Scotland’s latest session.

The Scottish FA said the game had been arranged between team managers, not head coaches, and that the risk of further injuries outweighed any benefit. They said Norway were informed as soon as possible and expressed surprise that a private training fixture became public.

Norway are staying in Greensboro, about 90 miles from Scotland’s camp.

Source: ExpressAndStar.com