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Norway and Benfica winger Andreas Schjelderup has revealed he's facing jail time for sharing an illegal video.
The 21-year-old, who has been included in his country's squad for their World Cup Qualifiers this week, took to Instagram on Saturday to explain the 'stupid mistake' he made two years ago while still playing for Nordsjaelland.
Schjelderup said he was sent an 'old-quality video of two young men' which he forwarded to another friend 'without thinking'.
He's now due in court next month, according to Danish media, after reportedly being charged with possession of or sharing sexual material which features people under the age of 18.
The Benfica star wrote in a statement released on his Instagram Stories: 'Hi everyone, I want to be open to all of you about a stupid mistake I did around 2 years ago. At the time I was 19 years old and I will now have to face the consequences of this mistake.
'I take full responsibility for what happened and what I've done, but it is important to me the context of the episode.
Benfica winger Andreas Schjelderup has revealed he's facing jail time for sharing an illegal video
The 21-year-old has been included in his country's squad for their upcoming qualifiers
'I was living in Denmark at the time. I received a short video and forwarded it to my friend a few seconds later without thinking clearly. We have always sent memes to each other, like many teenagers do. When I received this video I forwarded it, as we usually do, without thinking that this one was different. I only saw the first seconds and not what the video developed into.
'My friend, after having seen it a few seconds later, reminded me directly that it was of course illegal to send, so I deleted it immediately.'
He later added: 'What I did in Denmark at that time was illegal and not OK. I will take full responsibility for it.
'I would like to apologise first and foremost to those affected by the video. Then to my friends, family, employers, country and all the fans I have disappointed.
'I wish I could go back in time and change my mistake. I have never done anything illegal before, or even been involved with the police, so I have been in shock for a long time while this has been going on.'
Schjelderup also urged people not to 'watch or spread videos with harmful or offensive content.'
His admission comes following weeks of speculation in Denmark after news of an 'unnamed' footballer being charged with an offence concerning possession or sharing of sexual material which features people under the age of 18 surfaced.
Rui Costa, Benfica's president, is however reported to have publicly showed his support for Schjelderup.
The youngster admitted he 'wishes he could go back in time and change his mistake'
As has Norway boss Stale Solbakken, who said his fellow countryman has done 'an incredibly foolish thing'.
He added: 'He has admitted the incident that took place two years ago and is taking responsibility for his actions.
'I have full confidence that he has learned from this and that he will never do anything like it again. This is a tough situation for Andreas, so we need to take good care of him when he joins the team on Monday.
'I also know this will be an unneeded disturbance to the national team of Norway before some of the most important games in our history.
'My intention was to share this after the games to avoid that. But unfortunately, that is not possible any more.'
Norway are on the verge of securing a place in the World Cup next summer for the first time since 1998. They currently sit three points clear at the top of their qualifying group with just two matches remaining.
Schjelderup admitted that he had planned to share news of his legal troubles after the upcoming fixtures but 'that is not possible anymore.'
'I also know this will be an unneeded disturbance to the national team of Norway before some of the most important games in our history,' he wrote.
'My intention was to share this after the games to avoid that. But unfortunately, that is not possible any more.'
