David Beckham has found himself embroiled in a salmon scandal after jetting to Norway for a fishing trip. 

The football star’s trip to the fjords has infuriated locals who claim he has been given special treatment for an activity that is usually banned. 

Last week, the former footballer was filmed fishing in a river that is normally subject to strict restrictions, The Times has reported. 

The Laerdal in southwest Norway, where a local man says Beckham was spotted, is also known as the ‘queen of salmon rivers’, because it is often visited by the country’s king and queen. 

Norwegians, however, have recently been subjected to strict restrictions on salmon fishing in an effort to rescue declining fish stocks. 

This summer, the government’s environment agency banned fishing on the Laerdal and 33 other rivers. 

Last week, the former footballer was filmed fishing in a river that is normally subject to strict restrictions, The Times has reported

The football star’s fishing trip to the fjords has infuriated locals who claim he has been given special treatment for an activity that is usually banned

The ban followed the results of a survey that found the salmon populations in Norway’s rivers had halved compared to previous years. 

Beckham’s trip has sparked criticism of the local authorities and has even led to allegations that it may have used an expensive loophole in the regulations. 

Despite the ban, there is one exception to the rule – a practice known as (stock fishing). 

This is where the salmon, once caught, are transported to a hatchery where their roe are collected for artificial insemination. 

Such expeditions require donations of up to 1.4 million kroner (about £100,000) to the organisations in charge of the hatcheries, according to the Norwegian newspaper Bergens Tidende. 

Beckham has denied that he has done anything wrong and a spokesperson for the footballer told the Times that although he had not been involved in organising the trip, it was done in accordance with the regulations.  

It comes following a stir in the Norwegian press a week ago when one broadcaster showed footage of the 49-year-old fishing in a stretch of water near the Sognefjord, the country’s longest fjord.