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After Haaland Incident, UEFA Tells Officials It's Unacceptable to Ask Players for Autographs

NYON, Switzerland (AP) — UEFA has told match officials it is unacceptable and undignified to seek autographs from players, after a referee’s assistant asked Erling Haaland to sign red and yellow cards after Borussia Dortmund’s Champions League game at Manchester City.

UEFA’s chief refereeing officer Roberto Rosetti wrote to refereeing teams after the incident in the tunnel in Manchester on Tuesday night was caught on camera as the players left the field following Dortmund’s 2-1 loss.

“UEFA has strived to get you respected as much as the players and you have helped with that by looking the part: athletic, commanding, respectful and professional,” Rosetti wrote Wednesday in correspondence first reported by British broadcaster Sky Sports and verified by UEFA.