Gerson Rodrigues may no longer be nominated for the FLF selection

Luxembourg footballer Gerson Rodrigues has been dropped from the national team squad “until further notice”, the country’s football association has said, indicating the decision was due to his refusal to publicly apologise for a domestic violence conviction.

Preparations for the national team’s games in June were overshadowed by a row over the selection of Rodrigues, whose conviction for domestic violence was upheld earlier this year. Protests were held both inside and outside the stadium over his selection.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Fédération Luxembourgeoise de Football (FLF) said that the “board of directors has decided that Gerson Rodrigues can no longer be nominated for future international matches for the national team until further notice”.

“The reputation of the institution of Luxembourg football and all its members has been tarnished by the ‘Gerson Rodrigues affair’,” the FLF said.

“We would like to make it clear that the reputation of the association and its members takes precedence over any individual and sporting considerations,” the statement added.

Refusal to apologise

FLF President Paul Philipp said that the player “should be given a second chance” but added that Rodrigues’ refusal to apologise publicly had led to Tuesday’s decision.

“We wanted him to apologise publicly. But he didn’t want that. He always maintained his innocence,” said Philipp.

This development was disappointing for the association. “We always stood up for him,” said the FLF president. “That’s why we expected more from him.”

The FLF justified its U-turn by stating that Rodrigues “has not drawn any positive conclusions from this, despite the advice and recommendations that the association’s officials have tried to give him”.

World Cup qualifying

The announcement comes ahead of the upcoming squad nominations for the start of World Cup qualifying, with Luxembourg set to face Northern Ireland in the first game on 4 September.

National coach Luc Holtz, who will leave when his contract expires at the end of the year, is expected to announce his squad at the end of the month.

“Because the next game is in four weeks’ time, we wanted to create clear conditions now so that the national team can work in peace,” explained Philip.

However, he did not want to rule out the possibility of Rodrigues returning in the future, adding: “Our doors are never closed.”

FLF President Paul Philipp  © Photo credit: Ben Majerus

Conviction upheld

An appeals court in April had upheld an 18-month suspended sentence against Rodrigues together with several fines for assaulting his girlfriend and attacking multiple men outside nightclubs in Luxembourg City in two separate incidents.

A few weeks later, national coach Holtz nevertheless nominated the striker for the national team.

At the time, the FLF defended its decision amid cricitism, stating that the board of directors “is of the opinion that Gerson Rodrigues should not be penalised twice and deserves a second chance.”

However, the issue escalated when politicians spoke out, fans protested and national and foreign media focused attention on the selection.

During a friendly match against Slovenia at the Stade de Luxembourg on 6 June, security officers forcibly removed banners protesting Rodrigues’ selection that had been displayed by women’s rights group CID-Fraen an Gender and other associations. One woman was reportedly left with a broken finger following the incident.

A journalist from Le Quotidien, Julien Mollereau, was then banned from FLF press conferences after writing an article criticising the selection of Rodrigues.

The FLF apologised for those incidents, and said it would establish an “independent ethics committee” to “impartially review the events related to the Gerson Rodrigues case and draw the appropriate conclusions.”

In the midst of the controversy in June, the government announced it was cutting a “national branding” subsidy paid to the FLF for this year.

Luc Holtz (left) is no longer allowed to nominate Gerson Rodrigues (right). © Photo credit: Ben Majerus

Last week, Rodrigues signed for Kanchanaburi Power, a club promoted to the Thai first division, his 17th club in 12 years.

(This article was published by the Luxemburger Wort. Machine translated, with editing and adaptation by Alex Stevensson.)