A former teammate of Finland’s first openly gay ice hockey player, Janne Puhakka, has broken his silence following Janne’s murder.
Starbulls goalkeeper Oskar Autio, 25, who previously played for the same Espoo team as Janne, said of the news: “I was totally shocked. I think a lot of people were.
Janne’s boyfriend, 29, confessed to having killed the athlete in the house they shared in Hentta, Espoo, according to local media.
Norwegian veterinarian Rolf Nordmo, 66, is said to have told police that he killed his lover, who was 37 years his junior, on the night of October 13 with a hunting shotgun, according to a Finnish newspaper. YLE.
talking to Feet boom Of Janne’s death, Oskar said: “I never heard anyone say anything bad about him.” He was one of those guys you want on your hockey team.
A former teammate of Janne Puhakka (pictured left with former teammate Rolf Nordmo) broke his silence after Janne, who was Finland’s first openly gay ice hockey player, was murdered.
Oskar added: ‘It’s very rare for something like this to happen in Finland. But it’s even worse when it happens in your hometown and especially when it’s someone you know.’
He also spoke about Janne’s decision to speak openly about his sexuality after his playing career, noting that the conversation can be difficult to navigate within the world of sport.
Oskar affirmed his belief that anyone should be able to play sports regardless of their backgrounds and beliefs.
Elsewhere, tributes have flooded in for Janne: The Finnish League for Human Rights, LGBTIQ rights group Seta and Helsinki Pride organized a gathering on Monday to pay tribute to the former ice hockey player.
A crowd gathered in Helsinki’s Senate Square to light candles in memory of the athlete.
According YLETommy Lindgren, who works with the Human Rights League’s sports arm, Team Human Rights, addressed the crowd, saying: “He drew attention to the structure of sports organizations and reminded sports clubs and federations of their responsibilities in matters of human rights”.
It comes after The Traitors Finland postponed the airing of the final episode of the second season following the murder of Janne, a former contestant.
Starbulls goalkeeper Oskar Autio revealed his shock at Janne’s death, saying: “I was totally shocked. I think a lot of people were
Pictured: Candles and flowers were placed outside the apartment where Janne was killed in tribute to the athlete.
On Monday, the Finnish League for Human Rights, LGBTIQ rights group Seta and Helsinki Pride organized a tribute to Janne (pictured).
Janne took part in the second pre-recorded series of the Finnish version of the show and reached the final alongside Green MP Fatim Diarra. YLE reported.
‘We have come to the decision that now is not the right time to show the episode. We will return to the question of the possible presentation of the episode later,” said a spokesperson for The Traitors, according to the Finnish publication.
The 29-year-old acted as a traitor in the final episode, working to trick the other players into winning the money pot.
Matti Högman, who is leading the police investigation into Janne’s death, told the newspaper that the player had moved out of the house he shared with his ex-partner after the relationship ended “several weeks ago.”
When the hockey player returned to the property for “practical matters,” Nordmo allegedly grabbed a gun and used it to kill Janne.
Högman added that “more violence than necessary” was used in the death. Nordmo, who had a permit to possess a gun in Norway, is reported to remain in police custody.
Janne, who played for Espoo Blues and Espoo United before ending his career at the end of the 2017-2018 season, met Nordmo in 2014 and quickly fell in love after chatting online for a week.
finnish newspaper Ilta-Sanomat It previously reported that Janne’s case is being treated as a murder.
Sanna Marin, former Finnish prime minister, is among those who have paid tribute to the athlete. She took to Instagram to share an image of the former ice hockey player with a broken love heart emoji.
Detective Inspector Matti Högman told the STT news agency that there were “reasons to believe that the suspect’s actions were deliberate and cruel” and that “the suspect and the victim knew each other.”
Rolf Nordmo, 66, has confessed to the murder of his ex-partner, Janne Puhakka, according to reports in Finland
Pictured: Candles lit for Janne Puhakka in Espoo, Finland
Finland’s first openly gay ice hockey player, Janne Puhakka (pictured left), was found dead in his home. Janne is pictured with her partner Rolf Nordmo (pictured right)
The night Janne died, a passerby called police to the couple’s apartment after suspecting a violent crime.
The 29-year-old was the first Finnish ice hockey player to openly speak about his homosexuality.
Early in his career, he hid his sexual identity from his friends for fear of being stigmatized.
Janne and Nordmo opened up about their relationship to the Mirror in 2022, with the sports professional saying he kept their relationship private because he was “afraid of the way I would be perceived in the world of ultra-masculine sports.”
After chatting online in June 2014, Nordmo flew three times from his home in Oslo to Helsinki, Finland, to see Janne.
At the time, Nordmo told himself that the relationship wouldn’t work because of the age difference, telling himself that it was “just a summer fling.”
But the pair grew closer and Nordmo visited Janne while she was working in Canada.
Initially, Janne kept her sexual orientation private because she feared what her teammates would think.
Former Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin is among those who paid tribute to Janne online (pictured)
Despite falling in love with Rolf, Janne was still “in the closet” because she was “afraid of the way she would be perceived in the ultra-masculine sports world.”
Janne stayed with a host family and told them Nordmo was her uncle so she could see him at their hotel.
‘It felt very strange to hide our relationship; I just wanted to say he was my boyfriend,” Nordmo said.
When they met publicly, the couple would pretend to be just friends or that Nordmo was Janne’s uncle.
Nordmo said viewers often thought they were “a sugar daddy and a baby or a father and a son.”
Janne previously said: ‘We both had to fight with ourselves to get to the point we are at now. We love each other and that’s all that matters.’
After playing ice hockey, Janne studied international business at Haaga-Helia.
He added that friends and family learned to understand that their relationship “was not strange” and that “they complement each other.”
Nordmo, who came out as gay at age 40, was previously married to a woman for 17 years, with whom he has three children.
He told them about his relationship with Janne in February 2015, and they initially had mixed reactions.
Janne started playing hockey at age six, before earning a spot on the Finnish national youth team at age 16, according to OutSports.
He hoped that by speaking publicly about his sexual orientation it would help other players in the future.
After playing ice hockey, Janne studied international business at Haaga-Helia and worked in sportswear sales at an Amer Sport store.
He told Frenn: “When my sporting career came to an end, I had to think about what I would like to do next. “Aside from sports, fashion and clothing have always interested me.
“So it was quite natural to combine these two elements. The sportswear business is a perfect place to use my past experience and develop my future career goals.’
He added: ‘The physical and mental well-being of my family is the cornerstone of my life. I have always valued a healthy lifestyle and that is what I work for today too.’