Gibraltar star slams Haaland after refusing shirt request

After a World Cup qualifier between Norway and Gibraltar, Erling Haaland allegedly refused to swap shirts with an opponent.

Reece Styche claims Erling Haaland ‘laughed and walked off’ when Gibraltar captain Roy Chipolina asked to swap jerseys with him.

The alleged incident occurred following a 2022 World Cup qualifier between Gibraltar and Norway in March. The visitors cruised to a 3-0 win, although Haaland failed to find the back of the net. He instead came off in the 62nd-minute for Joshua King.

Now Styche, who scored in the reverse fixture in September that ended a 5-1 loss for Gibraltar, has stated Haaland lacks ‘class’ off the pitch.

“None of us wanted Haaland’s shirt, so we snubbed him,” the 32-year-old told The Sun. “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.”