EDINBURGH MONARCHS speedway bosses today jumped to the defence of their under-fire Swedish star Thomas Jonasson.
The 21-year-old created a furore this week after it was revealed he rode for his Polish club Stal Gorzow on Sunday, despite being ruled unfit to turn out for Monarchs in their double-header Premier League fixtures against Stoke Potters last Friday an
d Saturday.
Jonasson had crashed in Sweden the previous Tuesday, suffering concussion and was told to take four days off.
Monarchs officials – and fans alike – were then astonished to discover he fulfilled his scheduled engagement for Gorzow.
Jonasson claims he was "forced to ride" and, while Monarchs have publicly accepted his explanation, some supporters feel he is taking the club for a ride, with question marks being raised over his commitment to the Capital outfit.
Jonasson did not ride for his Swedish Elite side Vetlanda on Tuesday but was scheduled to race for Valsarna in the Alsvenskan League last night, although they gave him permission to pull out at short notice if he didn't feel ready.
Jonasson is expected to line up for Monarchs against Rye House Rockets at Armadale tonight and he is in the squad to face Reading Racers on Sunday and the Isle of Wight next Tuesday.
Monarchs chief Alex Harkess said if he felt Jonasson was taking a loan of the club, he would seek a replacement now.
"We were a bit upset he wasn't medically fit to ride for us," said Harkess. "He wasn't medically fit to ride in Sweden last Thursday either. He wasn't medically fit to ride in Poland but he did. That seems morally wrong. But pressure was put on him by Gorzow.
"Thomas says he was forced to race but that seems to be a strange thing to be coming out with. The Poles do have an enormous hold over their riders because they pay them so much. They pay in advance and threaten all sorts of things if the riders don't do what they are told.
"It depends on how much money was involved and how much Thomas had already received. He might have spent it, he is a young man after all. But, if there was a doubt in our minds that he wasn't committed to Monarchs, we'd be seeking a replacement now.
"When we signed him he already had two contracts to race in Poland and Sweden so we knew there would be problems.
"Thomas has always said, as long as someone tells him where to go, he is happy. But, if two people instructed him to race somewhere on the same day, he wouldn't be happy.
"And we have tried to sort out these kind of problems. However, occasionally such matters are outwith our control because he does race on a Swedish licence. No-one should doubt Thomas's commitment to Monarchs. Of all the clubs he rides for, he enjoys Monarchs the most."
Jonasson has ridden just ten matches for Monarchs so far this season. And, while he struggles to conquer Armadale, his scores away from home suggest he can become a force within the Premier League.
"Thomas has nothing to prove, except to show what he can do round Armadale," said Harkess. "Anyone who has seen him on the road is in no doubt as to what he is capable of. He is a very accomplished rider." Asked whether Jonasson's increased tally of foreign excursions would preclude a return to Armadale next season, Harkess replied: "Of the three countries he rides in, we pay the least. And we, as a club, only pay what we can afford. It was reckoned Thomas earned more in Poland on one day last Sunday than he has made for Monarchs so far this season.
"Thomas gave up big money to come here so it's up to us to decide if we want to take the hiccups that come with it. And at some time or another we will decide that."
Monarchs have booked in Reading's Mark Lemon as a guest for broken collarbone victim William Lawson.
And while the Rockets, who are defending the championship they won in 2007, have three riders on their roster – Tai Woffinden, Stefan Ekberg, and Robert Mear – all carrying various injuries, the trio are expected to be fit for this evening.
The Rockets may have a bit of an uphill struggle to win back-to-back crowns, but they cannot yet be ruled out of the reckoning.
They are unbeaten at home and, with a clutch of slightly easier away trips in the pipeline, could yet build up a head of steam.
The full article contains 775 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
