Fans who raised Greenland’s flag at US-Denmark Olympic hockey game say it was a pro-European gesture
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
We need your support!
Local journalism needs your support!
As we navigate through unprecedented times, our journalists are working harder than ever to bring you the latest local updates to keep you safe and informed.
Now, more than ever, we need your support.
Starting at $15.99 plus taxes every four weeks you can access your Brandon Sun online and full access to all content as it appears on our website.
Subscribe Nowor call circulation directly at (204) 727-0527.
Your pledge helps to ensure we provide the news that matters most to your community!
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Brandon Sun access to your Free Press subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
*Your next subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $20.00 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.00 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
MILAN (AP) — Two fans who raised a flag of Greenland as the United States played Denmark in men’s hockey at the Winter Olympics Saturday in Milan say they did so as a gesture of European support for the island and for Denmark.
Vita Kalniņa and her husband Alexander Kalniņš, fans of the Latvian hockey team who live in Germany, held up a large Greenland flag during warmups and again when the Danish team scored the opening goal of the preliminary round game against the U.S., which ultimately beat Denmark 6-3.
“We are Europeans and I think as Europeans we must hold together,” Kalniņš told The Associated Press.
“The Greenlandic people decide what will happen with Greenland, but as it is now, Greenland is a part of the Danish kingdom and, as Greenland is a part of Denmark as in this case, we support both countries against the U.S.”
Trump’s rhetoric in recent weeks about taking control of Greenland has stirred up national pride in Denmark, which oversees the semiautonomous island. That the teams just happen to face off at the Milan Cortina Olympics was no extra motivation to the players, but rather a chance for them to ride a wave of patriotism as significant underdogs in the so-called “Greenland Derby.”
As for the strained relationship between the U.S. and Denmark, “we didn’t even mention it” within the team, captain Jesper Jensen Aabo said. “We just wanted to win a hockey game against a world-class team. We didn’t need extra fire to fire us up. We were ready for the game even though there’s stuff going around in the real world, so that’s nothing that affected us at all.”
The captain said the players did not notice the Greenland flag in the stands.
“I didn’t see it, but that was nice,” Jensen Aabo said. “So hopefully they supported us.”
Other American and Danish fans who watched their teams face off said they believe sports transcends politics amid recent tensions between their governments over Greenland.
“It doesn’t matter whatever sport it is — it could be tennis, it could be bobsledding, it can be ice hockey, it could be football — it has nothing to do with politics,” Danish fan Dennis Petersen, his face covered in red and white paint to symbolize the kingdom’s flag, told the AP ahead of the game. “They are athletes, not politicians.”
American fan Rem de Rohan, sporting a stars and stripes jacket, agreed that politics should be left at the stadium gate.
“I think this is the time for people to kind of put that down and compete country versus country and enjoy,” he said. “We love rooting on every country that’s been here.”
___
Kostya Manenkov, James Ellingworth and Stephen Whyno in Milan contributed to this report.
___
AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
