Naked trophy celebration: Lillestrom star has no regrets

Lillestrom’s Norwegian Cup celebrations have been criticised by the country’s FA after Aleksander Melgalvis Andreassen stripped naked on stage and used the King’s Trophy to protect his modesty.

A 3-2 victory over Sarpsborg 08 on Sunday saw Lillestrom claim glory in the final, but Melgalvis took their subsequent celebrations on Monday to unexpected levels.

And his actions drew criticism from the Norwegian FA’s communications director Yngve Haavik, who told TV2: “Winning the Cup is a big thing and obviously it should be celebrated.

“But it is very possible to do so in a manner that shows the cup a bit more respect. I am sure it wasn’t intentional from Melgalvis but it came out the wrong way regardless. I think Melgalvis and Lillestrom agree with that.”

However, Melgalvis expressed little in the way of remorse.

“[Winning the cup] was something I never thought I would experience,” he told Dagbladet. “I’ve come a long way to play in a cup final. Of course I can understand that [people thought] it was a bit over the top.

“I’ll admit that and apologise, but it is not something I regret.

“I can understand [that some people didn’t like it]. Should I apologise to the king? Well, I was very privileged to say hello to the king yesterday, so maybe I should apologise today.”

Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang asked Melgalvis if his grandmother would be proud of him and he replied: “I don’t think she’s seen it. Fortunately she doesn’t have the internet or social media.”