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Norwegian international Andreas Schilderup said he faces conviction for illegally sharing a video.
The 21-year-old Benfica winger posted a statement on his Instagram account on Saturday, admitting to making a “stupid mistake” when he was 19 and playing for Danish club Nordsjælland.
His statement comes after he was included in Norway’s 24-man squad for this week’s crucial World Cup qualifiers against Estonia and Italy which could see the country reach the tournament for the first time since 1998.
Schildrup said he received a video and shared it with a friend without knowing its full content, and deleted it as soon as he was told what it contained.
“What I did in Denmark at that time was illegal and unacceptable. I will take full responsibility for it,” he wrote.
“I would like to apologize first and foremost to those affected by the video, then to my friends, family, employers, country and all the fans I have disappointed.
“I wish I could go back in time and change my mistake. I’ve never done anything illegal before, nor been involved with the police, so I was in shock for a long time while this was happening.”
He said he was “ready to face the consequences” and urged people not to “watch or post videos with harmful or offensive content.”
“The crime I will be convicted of does not reflect who I am as a person and what I stand for.”
The content of the video is not known, but Schildrup said it was “apparently of two young men in an old-quality video” that he sent “without thinking”.
He said he “only watched the first few seconds and not what the video evolved into.”
Schildrup said he cooperated with Danish police and was charged with the crime, saying he would be convicted “in the near future” and would likely receive a suspended sentence.
Danish media said the player is scheduled to appear in court later this month.
His statement comes after press coverage in Denmark alleging that an unnamed footballer has been charged with an offense relating to the possession or sharing of sexual material involving persons under the age of 18.
Rui Costa, president of Portuguese club Benfica, was quoted as saying that the club will support Schjelderup.
Speaking on Saturday, Norway coach Stal Solbakken said he had spoken to Schildrup, who he said had done “something incredibly stupid”.
He added: “He has admitted to the incident that occurred two years ago and takes responsibility for his actions.
“I have full confidence that he has learned from this and will never do anything like that again.
“This is a difficult situation for Andreas, so we need to take good care of him when he joins the team on Monday.”
Norway is close to appearing in the World Cup for the first time since 1998, and leads its group in the qualifiers with three points with two matches remaining.
Schilderup added: “I also know that this will be an unnecessary inconvenience for the Norway national team ahead of some of the most important matches in our history.
“I intended to share this after the matches to avoid that. But unfortunately, that’s not possible anymore.”
BBC Sport has contacted Schilderup’s lawyers and the Danish Prosecution Service for comment.
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