The errors off the pitch keep on coming.
In December of last year, we saw Lucy Bronze, the lioness legend, unable to come on for England late on in their win over Switzerland in an international friendly because of an “error” not putting her on the teamsheet. She had to remain on the bench instead of making an appearance in the 83rd minute.
Well, a similar situation happened again for 23-year-old Finnish defender Nanne Ruuskanen. She wasn’t included in the Finnish Nations League match against Serbia after manager Outi Saarinen accidentally called up a previous Finnish player with the same last name who hadn’t represented her country for twenty years.
According to UEFA's system, the 51-year-old Stina Ruuskanen was available to play and was chosen over Nanne Ruuskanen, the player intended.
Stina is not related to Nanne and last played for Finland 29 years ago. She said she was “definitely ready if the calls come.”
She joked to the Finnish newspaper Ilta-Sanomat: “Just yesterday, I played in a hobby league match… so my game feels good.
The manager said, “I am very sorry for the mistake.
“Nanne was, of course, disappointed but took the news very well considering the circumstances.”
She said in a football association statement that she explained what had happened.
Nanne Ruuskanen was unable to participate in the 1-1 draw on June 3rd as the UEFA system could not be changed.
The mistake was not spotted until after the team sheet deadline had passed.
Finland’s FA added: “The reason is an error when entering the lineup into the UEFA system.
“Team manager Outi Saarinen mistakenly entered a former player with the same last name, still available in the UEFA system, in place of Nanne Ruuskanen.”
Now that the June international break is over, the next stop is Switzerland for the women's EUROs.
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