Haaland was silent against City on Tuesday night (but he at least made one happy). – Paul ELLIS / AFP
Should an official referee do this? The scene, already funny if it had taken place during a pre-season friendly match, was quite surprising. At the end of the first leg of C1 won Tuesday by Manchester City against Dortmund (2-1), one of the two referees hit his little sprint in the corridors of the Etihad Stadium to ask the young star Herling Haaland to sign a dedication to him. Request accepted by “Baby Face” Haaland, who then signed the boxes for Mr. Sovre.
“I was told, I haven’t seen it. Maybe he’s a Haaland fan, ”said Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola of Spain. As a reminder, the man in question, Octavian Sovre, had officiated with his compatriot, the fourth referee Sebastian Coltescu, during the match of the group stage of C1 between Paris SG and Basaksehir Istanbul on December 8, interrupted by the players.
Not sure that this signing race was to everyone’s taste on Wednesday night. Especially since the refereeing trio of the evening had already been quite criticized after two very contentious decisions during the meeting.