OSLO Liverpool defender Stig Inge Bjornebye has decided to stop playing for the Norwegian national soccer team to spend more time with his family, the daily Adresseavisen said on Monday. Bjornebye, 28, made his debut for Norway in may 1989 and has 70 caps. He has been at Liverpool since 1992. Even though my ambition level is still at the top, I have chosen my family over the national team, Bjornebye, who is married with a daughter and another child due at the end of the year, wrote in the newspaper.

It is no longer defendable to put the team over my family. National coach Nils Johan Semb said he understood but would hold the door open in case Bjornebye changed his mind. My feelings are divided, Semb said. I fully respect Stig's decision, which he has considered thoroughly. But I am sorry to lose a routine member of the squad and an experienced player.

(Reuter)