The Romanian got a signature from the Norwegian Dortmund star after the CL game at Manchester City.
This Haaland autograph is the stumbling block.
The Romanian assistant referee Octavian Sovre has been punished for his controversial autograph request for star striker Erling Haaland. Contrary to what was planned, he is no longer part of the referee team in the first division game between Universitatea Craiova and champions CFR Cluj scheduled for this Sunday, reported the Romanian sports daily Gazeta Sporturilor on Friday.
Kyros Vassaras, President of the Romanian Referees Commission, has temporarily suspended Sovre because of the incident with Haaland. Sovre had previously justified his unusual request by saying that it was for a good cause. He has been systematically collecting autographs from various athletes for a long time, which are then sold to a Romanian association to support autistic people.
UEFA scolding
Sovre had asked for an autograph on Tuesday evening after Borussia Dortmund's quarter-final first leg in the football Champions League at Manchester City (1: 2) when walking into the dressing room, as could be seen on the English TV provider BT Sport. UEFA had internally condemned Sovre's behavior. In a letter to the referee teams, the association described it as unacceptable and unworthy to get autographs from players.
The Romanian referee Octavian Sovre is auctioning football memorabilia and donates the money for children with autism.
But this part of the news never gets retweets. https://t.co/iMG5zr5wXh
– AskFlorian FUT (@AskFlorian) April 7, 2021
In contrast, the association “SOS Autism” from Sovre's home region of Bihor took the line judge under protection and offered him honorary membership. We thank him for the donations, without which the association could not work, explained the chairwoman Simona Zlibut to the portal gsp.ro. Sovre estimates that he collected around 250 autographs and gave them away to “SOS Autism”. Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi even gave him nine autographs after telling him they were for a good cause. His autograph hunt has always been done discreetly. But now, by chance, a TV camera in Manchester recorded his meeting with Haaland.
