A linesman/assistant referee asked for an autograph from the Norwegian star football player, Eric Haaland in the tunnel. Eric Haaland was passing through the tunnel after the match ended where he was stopped by a Romanian referee. The referee asked for an autograph on a yellow card from Haaland and the Dortmund forward humbly obliged to provide an autograph to the referee.
Check out the video to understand what happened:
The incident happened after the UEFA Champions League game between Manchester City and Dortmund. Dortmund lost 2-1 to City courtesy of a late 90-minute goal by Phil Foden. But the tie is far from over as Dortmund was able to secure a crucial away goal and can go in the 2nd leg feeling confident about themselves. The referee asked for an autograph after the end of play in the UCL 1st Leg Quarter Final.
However, the referee was heavily criticized by media, analysts and some ex-players for not adhering to the spirit of the game. Here are some of the tweets made by fans and sports journalists:
But what matters is that Manchester City coach, Pep Guardiola had no complaints about the referee asking for an autograph from Haaland. He said, “Maybe he is a fan, a fan of Haaland, why not?”
“The referees and linesmen were correct, were perfect. It was not an influence like maybe it was in the past. It was correct today and maybe he wanted the signature for his son or daughter. I don’t know. I’ve never seen before but it’s happened. Listen, they did a good job, didn’t they? That’s all, nothing happened,” Pep said.
Manchester City vs Dortmund 2nd leg will be played on 15 March 2021.