A member of the Ballon d’Or panel has admitted he
forgot to vote for Vinicius Jr.
His error contributed to the loss by the more popular
Vinicius who was edged by Manchester City’s Rodrigo Hernandez.
For his error, the journalist Juha Kanerva, who works
for a publication in Finland, Ilta-Sanomat, has resigned.
Kanerva failed to include Vinicius in his top ten
despite the winger enjoying a stellar year in which he helped Real Madrid win
the UEFA Champions League.
According to UK publication, Daily Mail, a
Real Madrid fan pointed out that Kanerva was one of only three journalists not
to include Vinicius in his top ten.
He wrote: ‘This was my technical fault, for which
I take responsibility. I am leaving my place as Ballon d’Or selector.’
According to France Football, the other
two journalists that didn’t include Vinicius in their top ten were Bruno Porzio
of El Salvador and Sheefeni Nikodemus from Namibia.
Journalists from 99 different countries submitted
votes, with Syria abstaining from doing so.
As reported by Marca, Kanerva chose Rodri as his
Ballon d’Or winner followed by Erling Haaland and Jude Bellingham.
William Saliba, Ademola Lookman and Dani Carvajal were
amongst the players that were included in his top ten.
Vinicius was absent from the ceremony in Paris after
being informed that he wouldn’t win, with his Real Madrid team-mates also
snubbing the event.
These were the votes given by the Finnish journalist
for the 2024 Ballon d’Or:
1.
Rodrigo Hernandez: 15 points
2.
Erling Haaland: 12 points
3.
Jude Bellingham: 10 points
4.
Toni Kroos: 8 points
5.
Florian Wirtz: 7 points
6.
Declan Rice: 5 points
7.
Lamine Yamal: 4 points
8.
William Saliba: 3 points
9.
Ademola Lookman: 2 points
10.
Dani Carvajal: 1 point
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