‘The Media Hype Has Gone To His Head’- Haaland Slammed For Refusing Shirt Swap
Gibraltar striker Reece Styche has slammed Borussia Dortmund and Norway forward Erling Haaland for refusing a shirt swap during a World Cup qualifier back in March.
Norway dispatched Gibraltar 3-0 on the day but Haaland declined a request to swap shirts with the minnows’ captain Roy Chipolina after the game.
The incident did not go down well with the Gibraltar players, who did not bother to ask for Haaland’s jersey when the two sides met again for the reverse fixture earlier this month. Norway won 5-1 this time, with Haaland scoring a hattrick.
Styche told The Sun: "None of us wanted Haaland's shirt, so we snubbed him. Last March, our skipper Roy Chipolina asked for Haaland's shirt when we met in Gibraltar.
"Norway won 3-0 but Haaland never scored, was substituted after an hour and was in a bit of a mood.
"After they'd both done TV interviews, Roy said to him: 'My little boy's a massive fan of yours, do you mind swapping jerseys?' Haaland just looked at him, laughed and walked off! He can buy a lot of things - but he can't buy class - perhaps the media hype has gone to his head.
"He had the chance to make a little kid's day, month, year, whatever and he said no. So no-one wanted his shirt in Oslo. Maybe he kept it to mark his hat-trick or gave it to a Norwegian fan because it was their first home match with supporters after Covid."
