The International Football Association (FIFA) is believed to have informed the Norwegian FA that Haikin does not meet the requirements in the statutes regarding the length of stay in the country to which one wishes to play.
"We are still in talks with FIFA and currently have no comments beyond that. We will come back with more information when we can share it", says Communications Director Ragnhild Ask Connell from the Norwegian FA in a message to NTB.
Haikin impressed greatly during Bodo/Glimt's campaign in the Champions League this season as the unsung Norwegians reached the Round of 16 before crashing out against Sporting CP. With 74 saves in 12 games, he is the player with the most saves in the tournament.
The Bodo/Glimt goalkeeper has become a Norwegian citizen and applied to change federations from Russia, for whom he has been capped at Under-21 level.
Haikin was granted Norwegian citizenship in April. He also holds a Russian, Israeli, and British citizenship. Since 2019, he has lived in Bodo, apart from a short period in 2023, when, from January to March, he played for Bristol Rovers.
When his citizenship was granted in April, national team manager Stale Solbakken said that Haikin would "be considered like everyone else" when asked if he could be considered for Norway's World Cup squad.
There are five different sets of circumstances in which a player is eligible to switch nations. To switch national teams, players must hold nationality for the new country and generally have played no more than three competitive senior matches (before age 21), none in a final tournament (World Cup/Continental).
The player must have never played for a previous country at a senior, official level, and they can only change associations once, requiring approval from the FIFA Players' Status Chamber.
A new rule introduced in 2021 allowed players who had played up to three senior international caps before the age of 21 to switch nations. Previously, the rule stated that players could not switch nations once they had earned a senior cap in a competitive match.