Norway fan who refuses to take part in famous viking row celebration points out 'stupid' problem with it

Cape Verde's run in this summer's FIFA World Cup holds a lot of magic, it's true, yet the Norwegians win the argument for best fans of the tournament no question.

Before, during and after each of their nation's games - they'll next face England in the quarter-finals after knocking out Brazil - thousands of red-shirted Scandinavians emulate their forefathers in the stands by rowing in synch.

Initiated by the banging of a drum, they chant 'ROW!' as the seafaring movement takes place.

Such is its prominence, Norway players Erling Haaland and Martin Ødegaard have themselves gathered the rest of the team on the pitch beyond the final whistle to perform their own viking row.

At the time of writing, even Haaland's Google search page features animated vikings rowing across the screen.

But one fan, Emil Anners Lappen, has come forward to tear the whole thing down in an interview with Sky News.

He cites historical inaccuracies as the reason why he chooses not to take part in it.

Erling Haaland leads the Viking Row as Norway beats Brazil 2-1 pic.twitter.com/9NSh8burQb

— positive side of X 🌞 (@positivityofx) July 6, 2026

The bearded fella told the news station this week: "The vikings sailed across the Atlantic, they didn't row.

"In a song that they released together with the rowing, they said 'We're gonna row across the Atlantic' and that's why I've been so annoyed about it.

"The vikings rowed up rivers and things like that, but across the Atlantic they sailed."

Amused and baffled in equal measure by his cynicism, Sky News host Barbara Serra suggested Emil was missing 'the wider issue' in that it's all about 'supporting your country' at the end of the day.

"Isn't it all just a bit of fun?" she said.

"You can say that but when they released it I found it stupid and I wanted to show that I didn't appreciate it, and I think I got the message across," he replied, before reiterating that he wouldn't join in even if Norway miraculously won the World Cup.

This comes after Professor Andy Molinsky dissected the cultural complexities of football chanting in a TikTok explainer.

"Thousands of people, one sound, perfectly synchronised, no chaos, no breaking rank," he said, highlighting the Norwegian way.

"When I was at the Olympics in Atlanta a long time ago, I remember the Brazilian fans; drums, singing, moving, multiple rhythms happening at once, it's loud and coordinated so everyone's sort of adding their own thing.

"German fans, very different," Andy continued. "There's much more structure, call and response, organised chants, symmetrical, methodical in a sense."