After a heavy 3-0 defeat to Manchester City on Tuesday, Rafael Wicky, the coach of Young Boys, said he would speak to defender Mohamed Ali Kamara after learning that the team captain had asked City striker Erling Haaland for his shirt at half-time. Wicky told reporters after the match: "I didn't see that, this is new information for me, and I am a bit surprised. But I don’t think it is related to the match or performance. I will probably talk to him. Maybe Erling asked him to exchange shirts, I don’t know!"
The Young Boys defender was seen approaching Haaland, who had already scored one of his goals by that time, as the teams were heading to the tunnel leading to the locker rooms where they exchanged shirts. Shirt exchanges are a familiar sight in the world of football, as many players from City and Young Boys did at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday, but it is rare for this to happen at half-time and often angers fans who feel it is an inappropriate gesture during the match.
Former City player Keith Kearns told Sky Sports that he would have felt very angry if he were the coach. City’s manager Pep Guardiola stated that the shirt exchange did not bother him. He added: "I know nothing about that. We won 3-0. It happened; I don't know the reason."
