The Icelandic football commentator Gudmundur Benediktsson has gone from the high of delivering one of the most memorable passages of commentary at Euro 2016 to the low of losing his day job within four days.
Benediktsson’s commentary as Iceland secured a last minute winner against Austria went viral as he screamed then appeared to suffer an emotional breakdown when Arnor Ingvi Traustason scored a barely believable goal with the last touch of the game.
Soon after the match Benediktsson returned to Iceland, where he works as the assistant manager of local side KR Reykjavik – who have lost five of their past six games in all competitions. They sit ninth in the 12-team Urvalsdeild, Iceland’s top division, and the latest defeat, a 2-1 loss to the 10th-placed Iþrottabandalag Akraness on Thursday was the final straw for the club. Benediktsson and the manager Bjarni Gudjonsson Eggert have now left their posts after agreeing with the chairman, Kristinn Kjærnested, that performances have been unacceptable.
“From my first day on the job as coach of KR I have focused on the interests of the club as a priority,” said Gudjonsson. “After a bad start to the season I, along with the board, concluded that it is in the interests of the team that I resign. I am grateful to the KR board for having trusted in me for the training team. KR’s future is bright and I am confident that the team will get back to the top, where it belongs, before long.”
Benediktsson’s next duty is likely to be commentating on England’s match against Iceland on Monday, with the world waiting to see how he might react to another late goal.
