The Norwegian striker appeared to take a forced tumble against Barcelona on Wednesday night
Haaland came in for criticism after his tumble. © Twitter
Manchester City star Erling Haaland was criticized online for appearing to take a dive in a charity match against FC Barcelona on Wednesday, though some fought the Norwegian’s corner and claimed he had been fouled.
The two sides met in an unusual friendly three weeks into their respective seasons in Spain and England but for a good cause.
In a show of support for the fight against ALS, which ex-Barca player and goalkeeping coach Juan Carlos Unzue suffers from, 91,000 fans packed the Camp Nou to see the English champions take on the La Liga giants and were treated to a six-goal thriller.
With Memphis Depay putting Barca 3-2 up late with what could prove to be his last goal for the club, Xavi Hernandez seemed to be on his way to a first career win over his former coach Pep Guardiola.
After a long pause as Luke Mbete was treated for a head injury suffered when clashing with Andreas Christensen, however, play resumed and Haaland took a questionable fall in the box to earn his side a penalty which Riyadh Mahrez converted on 99 minutes to seal a 3-3 draw.
Diving in a Charity match Haaland what are you doing😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/YYFw7yemHg
— Sahil (@Criminal__x) August 24, 2022
As footage of the incident spread online, debate raged as to whether the 22-year-old had done wrong.
“Diving in a charity match, Haaland what are you doing?” asked the caption in one viral clip with its mind firmly made up.
“So shameless,” said another onlooker.
“What’s pathetic is that the pen was given. But yes, that’s embarrassing,” was another conclusion.
Others defending Haaland insisted it was not a dive, though.
“There was contact and it is a must for him to fall because his team needs a goal. Every player would have done the same. Haaland is smart,” was an alternative take.
VAR check is here. That’s not a dive. There was contact and it is a must for him to fall because his team needs a goal. Every player would have done same. Haaland is smart 👏👏👏👏 pic.twitter.com/wtSPZBR4Mg
— Azeez Sterlyn (@AzeezSterlyn) August 24, 2022
Cry pic.twitter.com/6HUuO6ch3t
— alex 🏴 (@alexmcfc_1) August 24, 2022
“Watch closely! You see his right leg getting hit by Christensen’s knee. It’s not a dive. But it’s a very light penalty,” was a separate deduction alongside: “Nah, that was a horrible tackle, to be honest”.
When Haaland’s haters were ordered to “cry” by one Twitter user who posted a picture of him telling the Camp Nou crowd to be quiet, someone noted that Haaland is “shushing and diving in a charity match”.
“No one is crying, it’s just hilarious,” it was added.
With three goals in three Premier League matches so far for the club he joined in a bargain £51 million ($60.4 million) deal from Borussia Dortmund earlier this year, Haaland has made an impressive start to life at City which continues with Saturday’s home meeting with Crystal palace at the Etihad.
