Hallam on former Al Hilal players: “He does not deserve my trust.”

Al-Ittihad captain for the former KHL player

Players who have now left but previously returned to the KHL after the start of the war are not eligible for the Tre Kronor.

This is the decision of national team captain Sam Hallam.

– If you choose to return to the KHL after the start of the war, it means that you have not gained my trust at the moment to play for Tre Kronor, says Hallam.

Yesterday, Sport Bladet revealed that Sam Hallam made decisions about players who played in the Premier Hockey League after the start of the war in Ukraine.

In other words, players like Adam Redburn, Adam Almquist and Jakub Lilja are not welcome at the moment.

Regarding the release of the team for the Karjala tournament, the national team captain explained his thoughts on his decision. It is basically his own choice and he has been officially allowed by the Swedish Ice Hockey Association to withdraw players.

– What I want to be clear about is that from the Etihad, players who play in the Premier League are not eligible for selection. Players who have played in the Premier League and other leagues are on the table for me to pick. Then I think we all make different decisions in life, and there are always consequences to those decisions. The result is that if you choose to return to the KHL after the start of the war, you have not gained my confidence now to play for Tre Kronor, says Hallam.

Adam Redburn mentions

Hallam cites Adam Redburn as an example.

– There is a sporting aspect to it, which may seem silly to talk about, but understand me correctly when I say that if we had brought Adam Redburn into the tournament, there would have been too much focus on it and that would have worsened our chances of performing.

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-You have to respect the fact that the situation was complicated. Each individual case is unique but we also know that there are many players who have broken contracts and may have had to pay a lot of their own money. It is a decision that has positive results.

“More water under the bridges”

The Karjala tournament is the first of several tournaments for the national team this season. As for Hallam, it seems that his decision on players at the moment will stand up to him.

– It would take a lot for me to change my mind on this issue. “It’s not about how you perform athletically, but more water has to get under the bridges before I feel comfortable taking a player out,” says Hallam, who says he has spoken to Adam Redburn and they respect each other’s choices.

“Where do we draw the line?”

From the FA’s point of view, there are therefore no ethical guidelines that Hallam must adhere to when it comes to signing players like Redburn. He’s also not sure it’s necessary.

– I don’t know. Should we regulate sports too much? it’s dangerous. Should we have charters that judge people on moral grounds, where do we draw that line?

However, as the leader of the Federation, he can draw that line and has been given the green light from the Federation to do so.

– Yes. Because my job is to lead the sporting action and choose the team that should be as good as possible.