It's been another eccentric week in Finnish football - in case you missed any of it, here is a summary.
It's been sixteen years since Mikael Forssell made his Chelsea debut
A Helsinki court found that a fan who threw a flare during the Finland v Spain match in 2013, which cost the Finnish FA a fine of €7000, is liable to pay the fine. Needless to say the majority of the public has sided with the fan, while there have been suggestions of crowd-funding in order to pay the fine on their behalf.
A court has ordered a Finland fan to pay a €7000 fine for using a flare during the Finland v Spain match in 2013 1/2 pic.twitter.com/HzPA5kJmiR
— Escape To Suomi (@EscapeToSuomi) January 28, 2015
Jari Litmanen has been keeping his fitness up with Estonian club Nomme Kalju - he does spend a lot of time in Estonia, while it's more likely that it is just keeping fit for further legend games. Doesn't stop the speculation about a comeback!
We finally had confirmation about the line-up of the 2015 Ykkönen (second tier). The ten teams competing are AC Oulu, EIF, FC Haka, FC Jazz, JJK, MYPA, PK-35, PS Kemi, TPS and VIFK. Strangely, Atlantis were denied a place due to the FA believing their player development systems weren't up to scratch. Atlantis of course were the side that turned a reluctant sixth-division forward into a 40-goal striker last year. Weird.
A refreshingly honest, unfiltered Atlantis reaction to the FA decision that their development work isn't up to snuff http://t.co/g15ZD0BXNF
— Egan Richardson (@EganRichardson) February 1, 2015
This is the same Atlantis, btw, that took a sixth division player and turned him into a record breaking professional last season.
— Egan Richardson (@EganRichardson) February 1, 2015
Former Jaro midfielder Hendrik Helmke, who had moved to Iran in December, was released from his contract after suffering a knee injury and has signed for Egyptian club Al-Ahly.
Official: Al Ahly sign Brazilian Hendrik Helmke, release Burkinabé Yedan - http://t.co/xQeFOLavEw By @AbdelrahmanAmr pic.twitter.com/nFD3kyZeOd
— KingFut.com (@King_Fut) January 30, 2015
In some evidence that goalscorers don't necessarily translate into other places - 2012 top scorer Irakli Sirbiladze has left Inter Turku and signed for KuPS, while 2013 goal king Tim Väyrynen has signed an 18-month loan with Viktoria Köln, still remaining on the books of Borussia Dortmund B.
Finally, I spoke to Finland and Real Madrid Castilla forward Eero Markkanen about a variety of topics, ranging from Grand Theft Auto to wrestling with Perparim Hetemaj.
An interview with Real Madrid Castilla striker Eero Markkanen "I'm only rank 41 on Grand Theft Auto" http://t.co/7RuDYmh6P2 #huuhkajat
— Escape To Suomi (@EscapeToSuomi) February 2, 2015
