The prime minister of Norway has offered her apologies after inadvertently breaking the news of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s appointment as the new interim manager of Manchester United.
So proud was Erna Sorlberg to see a fellow Norwegian land such a prestigious post that she tweeted her personal congratulations to Solskjaer on Monday night – the only issue being that United didn’t make their official announcement for several hours thereafter.
Sorlberg hastily deleted the tweet, but not before it was shared hundreds of times by United fans eagerly awaiting confirmation of their new caretaker boss.
FINALLY CONFIRMED! Great day for Norwegian football. Good luck keeping control of the Red Devils, @olegs26_ole
— Erna Solberg (@erna_solberg) 19 December 2018
The PM has since issued a second congratulatory tweet (above) along with a statement in which she apologised for jumping the gun while also managing to include a pithy little bard at the outgoing United manager for good measure.
I deleted the tweet when I realised with horror that Solskjærs appointment could open the path for (Jose) Mourinho coaching my team, Brann.
No, jokes aside, like most Norwegians I was eagerly waiting to hear from Old Trafford last night.
When I saw what I took to be a confirmation, I tweeted my congratulations, but then saw that it was a bit too soon.
Sorlberg then went on to assure everybody that her tweet was a genuine mistake and not proof of some grand collusion between her office and the United boardroom.
So, there is no secret communication between the Norwegian PM and Manchester United Football Club.
Now, on the other hand, I am happy to congratulate Ole Gunnar. This definitely is a big day for Norwegian football.
Well she would say that, wouldn’t she?