WOLVERHAMPTON SPEEDWAY NEWS
10 September 2006 - Wolverhampton Speedway

MAGNUS Karlsson will hold further talks with Wolverhampton owner Chris Van Straaten this week - after the club suspended him for one meeting.

Karlsson pulled out of the Elite League trip to Oxford last Thursday as he went back to Sweden for a league meeting in his home country.

It was an agonising decision for the youngest of the three racing brothers - and Van Straaten has admitted he was hurt by the situation.

''We were hurt as a club by the decision taken by Magnus, especially as he had told me at Reading on Wednesday night that he would be at Oxford the following evening,'' said Van Straaten.

''Then I got a call at 10.30am on Thursday to say he was at the airport ready to fly back for a Swedish League meeting!

''We have shown great loyalty to Magnus when there has been some external pressure to make a change, but we made the decision to stay loyal to him.

''I would have expected him to have shown some loyalty back to a club which has employed him for something in the region of 50 meetings this season.

''I had a long chat with him again on Sunday morning and we agreed to talk again during the week because there is the possibility of another clash further down the line.

''When we employed Magnus at the start of the season he was a Swedish Elite League rider which meant he would be there on Tuesdays. However, he wasn''t getting matches and therefore moved into the Second Division to try and get extra meetings which meant he would be required on a Thursday.

''There is an agreement in place between SVEMO - the Swedish authority - and the British Speedway promoters'' Association which means we close down on Tuesday nights in the British Elite League.

''However, if this situation continues with a Thursday night it could have a massive effect on the employment of Swedish riders in British racing as we have five Elite League clubs hosting matches on a Thursday night.

''I must stress there is no shouting between Magnus and I, we have had a good chat about things and will talk further in the week. I can understand what a difficult situation he was in with SVEMO demanding he returned on Thursday, but it''s important that people know my own view on the matter.''

Karlsson will miss Monday''s home Elite League meeting with Ipswich as a consequence of his decision. A full preview will be sent later.

www.wolverhampton-speedway.com

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