RateTheRef

He gave a penalty to City by guessing and he was wrong.. He gave a free out against Bellingham by guessing and he was wrong... poor stuff

https://twitter.com/RobHarris/status/1379549807916748802

Assistant Referee criticized for asking Haaland for an autograph

After Borussia Dortmund's 2-1 defeat by Manchester City in the Champions League quarter-final first leg, one of the Romanian assistant referees Octavian Sovre, followed Haaland down the tunnel at Etihad Stadium, with his flag under his arm, and appeared to get him to sign a red and yellow card he produced from his top pocket.

Former player Owen Hargreaves, now an expert on BT Sport, was clear in his perception of the incident.

"You can be a fan, but you can not do it in front of the other players. It does not look good." he said.

Lescott added: “There’s never a right time for that, it just doesn’t bode well for the officials. It’s a childish thing to see.”

Referee Ovidiu Hategan and his team were involved in two controversial incidents in the first half, most notably the decision to disallow a Jude Bellingham goal.

The English teenager thought he had equalised for Dortmund as he beat Ederson to a through ball and tapped into an empty net, but the official blew for a foul on the goalkeeper and booked Bellingham.

Replays indicated it was not a foul but since play had stopped after the whistle was blown, it was not overturned by the video assistant referee.

Bellingham said: "I definitely think I won the ball fairly. It's a bit frustrating in a time when they've got so many cameras watching the game that they don't wait for me to put the ball in the net and then check it."

Officials also awarded City a soft penalty, mistakenly deciding Emre Can had caught Rodri - but that was overturned by the VAR.

Seems Mr. Sovre had a rather noble cause in seeking an autograph - https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-9446309/Linesman-got-Erling-Haalands-autograph-auction-autism-charity.html

In this case I feel the cause being so worthy it is worth any slight breaching of regulations. Although I feel it was still maybe a tad naďve to be so open in how he did it, I feel a bit bad for being critical of him now, I was too quick to presume he was simply being reckless, sincere apologies to him and well done to him for his work in this area.

Seems Mr. Sovre had a rather noble cause in seeking an autograph - https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-9446309/Linesman-got-Erling-Haalands-autograph-auction-autism-charity.html

In this case I feel the cause being so worthy it is worth any slight breaching of regulations. Although I feel it was still maybe a tad naďve to be so open in how he did it, I feel a bit bad for being critical of him now, I was too quick to presume he was simply being reckless, sincere apologies to him and well done to him for his work in this area.

I think security is so tight around players now he thought it might be the only chance he had to accost the player for an autograph. It all makes perfect sense now as I had thought it scarcely credible that a match official should have done what he did. Certainly a worthy cause and any indiscretion in following protocol should be overlooked if the football authorities have a shred of humanity in them.

It's a good lesson in not rushing to judgement and I direct this comment as much at myself as anyone else.

Quote from: DublinRef on Wed 07 Apr 2021 21:56

Seems Mr. Sovre had a rather noble cause in seeking an autograph - https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-9446309/Linesman-got-Erling-Haalands-autograph-auction-autism-charity.html

In this case I feel the cause being so worthy it is worth any slight breaching of regulations. Although I feel it was still maybe a tad naďve to be so open in how he did it, I feel a bit bad for being critical of him now, I was too quick to presume he was simply being reckless, sincere apologies to him and well done to him for his work in this area.

I think security is so tight around players now he thought it might be the only chance he had to accost the player for an autograph. It all makes perfect sense now as I had thought it scarcely credible that a match official should have done what he did. Certainly a worthy cause and any indiscretion in following protocol should be overlooked if the football authorities have a shred of humanity in them.

It's a good lesson in not rushing to judgement and I direct this comment as much at myself as anyone else.

Totally agree Whitleblower, I can only hold my hand up and apologise as I certainly leapt to conclusions which were totally incorrect.

The Romanian assistant referee Octavian Sovre’s decision to ask Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland to autograph his yellow and red cards raised eyebrows but the charity set to benefit is not complaining.

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

Zlibut said the cards would likely be auctioned this month on Facebook to aid therapy of 30 autistic people aged below 47 at the centre in the western city of Oradea, on the border with Hungary.

Zlibut, whose 21-year-old daughter Laura Bianca is autistic, said the centre depended on donations. “The state gives me for my daughter 500 lei (Ł88) per month. One cannot imagine what I can we do with this meagre sum ... we, parents, rely on donations, we auction skirts, photographs, autographs, whatever we get, to make up for the huge shortfall.”

Sovre got Haaland to sign the cards on Tuesday at the end of the Champions League quarter-final first leg between Dortmund and Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.

The former Romania internationals Gheorghe Hagi and Helmuth Duckadam, the goalkeeper in the Steaua Bucharest team that won the European Cup in 1986, had helped the centre in the past, Zlibut said.

For the record - I don’t see a problem with it - but stuff like this must really be done behind closed doors away from the cameras. Discretion is the better part of valour…

Looks like Rosetti has written to all about this:

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.

“If you want to be respected as much as the players, why would you ask for their autograph or their shirt? Do they ask you for the same? This is simply unacceptable, this is a matter of dignity and don’t forget about the number of TV cameras at UEFA matches — they catch everything.”

It was later reported in his native Romania that Octavian Sovre, the referee’s assistant at City, wanted the signed cards to raise funds for an autism center.

What a monumentally pooterish response from Roberto Rosetti.  Let's hope Erling Haaland responds by asking for an assistant referee's autograph after the second leg.