Erling Haaland alleges Porto’s Pablo Rosario grabbed him during Champions League match

Erling Haaland put two past FC Porto in Manchester City’s Champions League league-phase opener on September 8. Then he accused Porto midfielder Pablo Rosario of putting hands somewhere they definitely shouldn’t go.

The Norwegian striker told broadcaster TV2 after the match that Rosario grabbed his backside during a scuffle following a foul in stoppage time. Both players received yellow cards from referee Szymon Marciniak for their roles in the incident. Haaland suggested Rosario was a bit too motivated to stop him from completing a hat-trick.

Two goals, one grab, and a tunnel incident

City traveled to the Estádio do Dragão and left with a clean 2-0 victory, both goals courtesy of Haaland. His first arrived two minutes into the second half, and the second came in the 90th minute to seal the result in heavy rain conditions.

That second goal is where things got interesting. A confrontation broke out between the two sides after a foul, and it was during this sequence that Haaland claims Rosario grabbed him. Photographic evidence from the match appeared to capture the moment of the alleged contact.

A heated altercation reportedly erupted in the tunnel at halftime, with tensions spilling over between players and officials. The halftime incident centered on a refereeing decision that did not result in a red card.

Porto coach Francesco Farioli also picked up a booking during the match.

Haaland’s scoring record keeps climbing

With his brace in Porto, Haaland now has 59 goals in 59 Champions League appearances, a goal-per-game ratio of 1.00 in Europe’s top club competition.

What UEFA might do next

Manchester City reportedly faces potential scrutiny from UEFA over the tunnel incident at halftime. As of September 9, no further disciplinary outcomes had been reported beyond the in-match yellow cards.

Generally, UEFA does not overturn or supplement decisions that the match referee has already adjudicated, unless the punishment was clearly insufficient for a violent act. A grab of the kind Haaland described exists in a gray area: unsporting, potentially embarrassing for the perpetrator, but unlikely to trigger the kind of retrospective ban reserved for punches or kicks.

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