Referee Who Asked for Haaland's Autograph Donating Cards to Charity

Referee Octavian Sovre's decision to ask Erling Haaland for an autograph received a wave of backlash, but the cards will be going to a good cause.

Referee Octavian Sovre's decision to ask Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland to autograph his yellow and red cards after Tuesday's game vs. Manchester City received a wave of backlash. However, the cards will be auctioned off with the money going to a worthy cause.

"The red and yellow signed cards which my kindergarten classmate Octavian donated to our SOS Autism Bihor center will be used for a noble cause," Simona Zlibut, who oversees a therapy center set up by parents, told Reuters.

The center depends on donations, according to Zilbut, with the cards now expected to be among the items auctioned later this month. The organization looks to aid the therapy of 30 autistic people below 47 at the center in the western city of Oradea, on the border with Hungary.

On Tuesday, the commentators for BT Sport in the U.K. found the autograph request embarrassing.

“You can be a fan, but you can’t do that in front of the other players, it just doesn’t look right,” former Manchester United and Manchester City midfielder Owen Hargreaves said.