Guardiola reacts to petition to ban Haaland from English football

Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola, has laughed off the “joke” online petitions launched by rival fans to ban Erling Haaland.

Haaland has netted a stunning 19 goals in 12 appearances since arriving at City from Borussia Dortmund in the summer.

This includes three hat-tricks in just eight Premier League fixtures, with his third treble coming in the 6-3 victory over Manchester United last Sunday.

Haaland added two more goals in a 5-0 Champions League win over Copenhagen on Wednesday.

At least two online petitions have surfaced in the past week, calling for Haaland to be banned from English football, because his presence is simply not fair on the other teams.

Guardiola laughed off the attempt at a press conference on Friday ahead of the weekend visit of Southampton.

“Yeah, it’s a joke,” said a smiling Guardiola, “it’s a joke, it’s good.”