The day after France Football’s official announcement revealing journalists’ votes for the 2024 Ballon d’Or, Finnish journalist Juha Kanerva, who omitted Vinicius Junior from his top 10, has caused a surprise by resigning. To justify his unexpected choice, the media figure cited a technical error.
As Vinicius Junior and Real Madrid continue to feel the disappointment of the 2024 Ballon d’Or, awarded to Rodri on 28 October, another surprising development has occurred. Just hours after the votes collected by France Football were published, Juha Kanerva, journalist at Ilta-Sanomat representing Finland, made an unexpected confession. Criticised for not including Vinicius Junior in his Top 10 — a scandal in the eyes of some — the media figure took to his X account to explain himself.
Juha announces his resignation
Aware that his vote (in failing to award any points to Vinicius Junior), along with votes from two other journalists, including an astonishing omission by a Salvadorian journalist, has significantly impacted the 2024 Ballon d’Or result, the Finnish journalist has chosen not to vote for France Football again. According to Juha Kanerva, the omission of the 24-year-old Madrid star from his top 10 was due to a technical error. “My technical error. I will resign from the Ballon d’Or jury,” he admitted sincerely as Marca confirm.
This is a significant admission that will likely displease those who feel things were mishandled this year. Notably, for this 68th edition of the Ballon d’Or, UEFA’s involvement changed the voting process. As explained by the Colombian voter, this year’s Ballon d’Or vote was conducted via an online platform.
“The difference lies in how we vote. Now, we go into an interface, and AI asks how we vote, and then we cast our vote. Previously, we didn’t do it this way. But this does not mean a fundamental change; it’s simply a different voting mechanism that does not alter our personal choice,” explained Paché Andradé, who voted for Vinicius Junior.
In any case, it may be necessary to review the process to ensure that France Football’s event does not lose credibility due to inconsistent votes like those of the two other journalists.
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