Finnish broadcaster Yle has disqualified the band One Morning Left from this year's UMK, the Contest for New Music, Finland's national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest.
In a statement, Yle cited a breach of competition rules as the reason for the decision but did not elaborate further.
"Unfortunately, One Morning Left will not be part of this year's UMK because the competition rules were not fully followed," said UMK's executive producer, Anssi Autio.
Yle confirmed that discussions had taken place with the band and that both parties were in agreement about the decision. Autio also noted that the Eurovision Song Contest's rules, overseen by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), played a role in the decision.
"The EBU rules clearly state that this kind of rule violation is a definitive barrier to participation," he explained.
Following the disqualification, One Morning Left issued a statement on Instagram shedding light on the circumstances behind the decision. In the statement, the group announced that it is disbanding.
Allegations arise
The post revealed that serious allegations had been anonymously made on social media against one of the band's members.
These claims alleged that the band's vocalist, Mika Lahti, had engaged in inappropriate messaging with a potentially underage individual on IRC-Galleria, a Finnish-language online forum, between 2007 and 2010.
According to the band's statement, Lahti has denied the allegations and expressed willingness to file a police report against what he claims are false accusations.
The other band members have since left the group, and all band activities, as well as the operations of the company behind One Morning Left, have ceased.
"These accusations do not in any way reflect the values of the other band members or our collaborators," the statement concluded.
UMK Producer: A loss, but the show goes on
Autio described the disqualification as a disappointment.
"We've been working all autumn to create the best possible platform for this act to succeed in the main event. Now, we're rethinking all the content and making several adjustments," Autio said.
Despite this setback, he reassured that the event will proceed as planned.
"Whether there are six or seven participants, the show will go on."
Autio added that while UMK strives to vet artists thoroughly, it's impossible to completely prevent such situations.
"The production and artist discussions rely on trust and transparency. When certain matters are guaranteed contractually, we take them at face value."
No replacement act
One Morning Left was one of the competition's favourites with their playful track Puppy. The song's music video had amassed nearly half a million views on UMK's official YouTube channel before it was taken down.
Under UMK's rules, no replacement will be introduced for the disqualified act. This leaves six remaining contestants in the competition: Neea River, Nelli Matula, Costee, Viivi, Goldielocks and Erika Vikman.
UMK, Finland's largest music competition, will culminate in a grand finale on 8 February at the Nokia Arena in Tampere.