Erling Haaland is asked for his autograph by the assistant referee from Dortmund’s clash with City
Erling Haaland was remarkably asked for his autograph in the tunnel by assistant referee Octavian Sovre following Borussia Dortmund‘s 2-1 defeat by Manchester City.
The striker played 90 minutes at the Etihad as the Bundesliga side conceded a 90th minute winner from Phil Foden after Marco Reus had cancelled out Kevin De Bruyne’s first half strike.
Haaland is one of the biggest stars in world football with a number of European clubs desperate to sign him and he was in demand at the Etihad as the Romanian official cornered him for a signature.
Erling Haaland was asked for his autograph by one of the assistant referees after Borussia Dortmund’s Champions League clash with Manchester City
The Dortmund striker put his arm round the official as he was approached by him in the tunnel before signing his pad
BT Sport cameras showed Haaland smiling as he was approached by Sovre in the tunnel.
He then proceeded to hold out a pad for the striker to sign as his Dortmund team-mates Gio Reyna and Thomas Delaney walked past.
Joleon Lescott and Owen Hargreaves heavily criticised the official’s actions.
Speaking on BT Sport, Hargreaves said: ‘They had a difficult first-half and they got a lot of things wrong in that first-half.
‘You can be a fan, but you can’t do that in front of the other players, it just doesn’t look right.’
Haaland was not on the winning side but did play a part in the goal scored by Marco Reus
Former City defender Lescott added: ‘There’s never a right time for that, it just doesn’t bode well for the officials. It’s a childish thing to see.’
The officials had a busy night as City were awarded a penalty in the first half before the decision was overturned. Referee Ovidiu Hategan pointed to the spot after Emre Can caught Rodri following a corner.
However, after reviewing the incident on the VAR monitor, he opted to change his mind after replays showed there was a handball from the City man.
The official was in the thick of action shortly after as Jude Bellingham was denied an equalising goal.
The midfielder looked to have won the ball cleanly from City goalkeeper Ederson but the referee blew for a foul. Bellingham had put the ball into the empty net but the decision could not be reviewed because the whistle had been blown before he scored.
Referee Ovidiu Hategan had a busy night as he awarded City a penalty before changing his mind after reviewing the incident on the VAR monitor
Jude Bellingham was denied a goal after the official blew after he won the ball from Ederson
Haaland was not on the winning side but he did play a part in Dortmund’s goal, hitting a first-time pass through to Reus, who finished past Ederson.
The forward was unable to get on the scoresheet himself but forced the City goalkeeper into a stop earlier in the second half.
The Norwegian out-paced Ruben Dias and held off the defender’s challenge but he was unable to lift the ball over the Brazilian.
