Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish has defended the match official who asked for Erling Haaland’s autograph after Borussia Dortmund’s Champions League clash with Manchester City.
Some time after the final whistle had blown on the quarter-final first leg, assistant referee Octavian Sovre approached the Norway international and got the striker’s signature.
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There has been a wide range of reactions for it online – with some of us seeing the heart-warming side of it, but others haven’t been quite as welcoming.
Sky Sports reporter Paul Gilmour took to Twitter to update his followers that he asked the Romanian FA about the incident and was told the match official requested Haaland’s autograph to raise funs for an autism centre.
In response to this, Grealish quote-retweeted the post and added: ‘I don’t get why it’s even a problem if he did it after the game.’ Check out the tweet below.
I don’t get why it’s even a problem if he did it after the game? ? https://t.co/rWne9FkqNH
— Jack Grealish (@JackGrealish) April 7, 2021
Both Grealish and Haaland have been linked with moves to Manchester City in recent weeks, with the Telegraph reporting the Norwegian has been made the priority over the Villa skipper because of financial reasons.
The above article claims the Citizens are keen to replace Sergio Aguero with a top player, which makes a great deal of sense.