Vegard Forren was speeding on West Quay Road in January 2014, six month after he left Southampton. This is one of the busier roads in the city.
He was convicted of a motoring offence, having allegedly failed to tell police the driver’s identity two months after the incident and decided against returning to Southampton from Norway to attend the court hearing. Forren was fined £600, ordered to pay a £60 victim surcharge and £85 costs, and had six penalty points added to his driving licence.
It was the most amazing thing that ever happened to him in Southampton.
The centre-back signed from Molde FK in January 2013 and became the first recruit under the Mauricio Puchettino era. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, for £4million. He left six months later without making a single first-team appearance, despite his agent at the time, Jim Solbakken — who also looks after the former Manchester United manager — saying he “absolutely” intended to stay and was “definitely” in the club’s plans. Instead, Forren went back to Molde for a fee which saw SouthamptonYou can get your money back
Another spell is England followed at Brighton & Hove Albion in 2017. But, again, Forren left without playing a game — lasting only four months — and then re-joined Molde once more.
Since then, Forren, a Norway international with 33 caps who made headlines in September 2014 for describing Wayne Rooney as “chubby” before a friendly against England, has largely faded into obscurity.
Forren plays for Norway against England 2014 (Photo by AMA/Corbis via Getty Images).
He has been scandalized in his home country.
In May 2020, Forren’s contract at Molde was terminated after he was accused of taking money out of the team’s fine fund to cover his gambling debts.
He was then charged with rape at an unannounced, late-night party at a football arena that also violated COVID-19 rules.
Police did not name him at the time, and the charges were dropped on October. Forren, who was charged with rape in February of this year, confirmed his identity. He has repeatedly denied the accusations and labelled the ordeal a “brutal experience”.
When contacted by The Athletic Forren declined the chance to participate in an interview, with the player’s representative citing his preference to maintain a low profile.
Age 34, he is still playing football for a Norwegian third division side.
Forren, a Molde employee, signed a new two year contract in March 2019.
“This is a big day for me, hopefully also for the fans and the club as well,” said Forren. “We have some exciting years ahead of us. In recent years, we have established a standard and built the club. I will be involved in the ambitions we now have for several years to come.”
Forren and Molde celebrate their win in the Norwegian Cup Final 2013 (Photo by Trond Tandberg/Getty Images).
But, fourteen months later, his time at Molde ended abruptly and divided.
Forren had been responsible for collecting the player’s fines over the previous two years. He called himself the “fine manager”. He said that the money would be used to fund team bonding trips and a portion of it would go to charity.
Forren was accused in a robbery money gathered from the team’s “penalty fund” to cover his gambling debts and later admitted he made a “number of withdrawals as short-term loans” from the kitty to settle debts to friends. He tried to return the money at a later date but it was not discovered. “I never intended to steal,” he told Norwegian outlet TV 2. “I always had an intention to repay everything. But I haven’t managed that.”
Molde, in a club statement, announced that Forren would be leaving by mutual agreement on May 31, 2020.
Molde and Forren kept the exact details of his departure under wraps, but he was asked for payment to the penalty fund.
Molde had first been made aware of Forren’s gambling issues in 2015 when both parties decided he should seek professional help. Two months prior to his contract being canceled, Molde was made aware of Forren’s gambling issues in 2015. In March 2020, the player agreed to continue support.
In his TV interview, Forren accepted his gambling had become an “illness”.
“It has been a challenge since I started making money,” he added. “You come home and are afraid that she (his wife, designer Cathrine Valgermo Forren) will find out at home. It drains energy. It took me a long while to grasp that. But I am satisfied with the support from those close to me.”
Molde’s senior executives did not respond. The Athletic’s Request for Comment
Forren was an international from Norway and a free agent. This meant that he attracted the attention of other top-flight Norwegian clubs. After leaving Molde, he signed a 1-year contract with SK Brann.
Over two campaigns, he made 36 appearances. Then, on August 11, 2021, midway through his second season at the club, Brann and Forren announced they had agreed to terminate his contract due to “family reasons”.
Forren plays for Brann in June 2020 (Photo by Andrew Halseid-Budd/Getty Images).
This came two days after Forren went to an unsanctioned late-night party in a downstairs common room inside the club’s stadium. Brann maintained that the two incidents were not connected.
The party, which lasted until the early hours of the morning, was attended by 12 players and 7 women. A fortnight later, one of the participants was formally charged. Section 291 of Norway’s Criminal Code. It was reported that a woman was bitten and raped at the party.
The player, who had his phone seized by Norway’s west district police and was questioned twice, denied the charges. On October 20, the case was dismissed due to insufficient evidence.
Norway’s media coverage was intensely focused on the incident. The incident was initially portrayed as a team-bonding exercise that was not sanctioned and failed to improve morale. It became a moral debate over a drunken party that was attended by footballers during a time Norway was still under strict COVID-19 rules. Many aspects of the night were captured by CCTV cameras in Brann Stadion, which has a capacity of 18,000 people.
Brann’s supporters were indignant and demanded answers. In their first home game after the party, a banner reading “Scum” was held aloft in the crowd. The supporters then protested silently during the match. An eerie silence was observed when their team scored.
“The club has worked intensively to get to the bottom of the very serious breaches of trust from 12 of our players,” said Brann in a statement shortly afterwards. “The investigation showed a breach of guidelines, general norms, corona(virus) restriction rules and reasonable expectations of our employees.”
Forren, who was charged with rape six-months earlier, publicly admitted that he was the one. He maintained that it was an accusation he had not yet denied. He also denied all allegations of violating Section 291 (Criminal Code), which covers sexual intercourse and threatening behavior.
Molde-based newspaper Romsdals Budstikke, he labelled the investigation “unfair”. The 34-year-old went on to detail his struggles sleeping while inquiries were ongoing, labelling it a “brutal experience”.
“I found it unfair that I was under investigation for something serious that I was sure I was not guilty of,” he said. “I regret the choice we made when we went to the stadium. It was a poor assessment, which had negative consequences for many.
“It was extra hard because so many people around me were affected by the situation. At the same, I received support and love from people that I didn’t deserve. I found out who my friends were during this time.”
Beate Hamre, a Norwegian lawyer who provided legal assistance to the victim, didn’t respond. The Athletic’sSend us a comment
Brann declined to comment when asked by The AthleticThey said they weren’t ready to make a statement about a matter That happened last year, and they wanted to move on.
The club pointed to the statement confirming Forren’s exit last August, made by sporting director Jimmi Nagel Jacobsen: “In recent weeks, we have been looking for opportunities for Vegard to find a new club. Because of injuries, Vegard has not been able the pitch as much as he would have liked. He also has a difficult family situation which has made his last days more difficult.
“We have tried to find a new club for him, but so far it has not been successful. By ending the employment relationship now, there is still time before the transfer window closes.”
On September 22, 2021 six weeks after leaving Brann, Forren signed for Eide og Omegn FK, a part-time team third from bottom in Norway’s fourth division. “I needed to get out and do something,” said Forren.
Forren was cleared of all charges. He was now free to go about his business. On February 11, Forren joined his fourth club after two years, signing a deal with SK Traeff (third-tier) until December 31.
A club official said: “We as a club are happy that Vegard is here playing for us with his background as a former professional and national player. Vegard is a star among his teammates and contributes at a professional level on the field. We hope that we together with Vegard can bring our club to the best position possible in SK Taeff’s league history.”
(Top photo Trond Tandberg/Getty Images
