While Erling Haaland was helping Manchester City to a 1-1 draw on the Bernabeu pitch against Real Madrid in the crunch Champions League semi-final first leg on Tuesday night, his father was being escorted away by security.
Kevin De Bruyne scored City’s equaliser midway through the second half, cancelling out an earlier goal from Real winger Vinicius Junior.
Even with away goals no longer a thing in UEFA competition, the result gives Man City a slender advantage ahead of the second leg next week in the home comforts of the Etihad Stadium.
But Alfie Haaland didn’t get to see the end of the game in Madrid. The former Man City, Leeds and Nottingham Forest midfielder was asked to leave by Bernabeu security personnel and escorted away from his position in one of the stadium’s boxes shortly after De Bruyne’s goal.
Video footage and other images showed Haaland Sr. goading and gesturing towards Real fans following the equaliser, which was controversial due to the ball looking as though it had gone out of play at an earlier point in the buil-up. He was seen waving and also cupping his ear to the home fans below as two uniformed men then came in to guide him and another person away.
“Ok. Real Madrid was not happy we were celebrating Kevin De Bruyne’s goal,” the 50-year-old posted on Twitter. “Other than that, we had to move because Real Madrid fans [were] not happy with 1-1.”
Read more on Erling Haaland's incredible goalscoring records here
Will Erling Haaland break Dixie Dean’s goal record?
Erling Haaland has had an incredible debut season at City following last summer’s transfer from Borussia Dortmund. The 22-year-old Norwegian has scored an astonishing 51 goals in 47 appearances across all competitions and is chasing Dixie Dean’s all-time English record of 63 goals (all competitions) in a single season that has stood since 1928.
Haaland needs 12 goals to equal that number and 13 to surpass it. He will only have a limited number of further games in which to do it, however. City will play a minimum of six more games this season, which will increase to seven, if they make it into the Champions League final.
It means Haaland will have to average close to two goals per game to break the record. Dean's all-time record of 60 goals in a single English league season is well safe for now.
Even so, Haaland has already set new records for most goals by a Man City player in a single season and most Premier League goals in a single season.
This article was originally published on 90min as Erling Haaland's father escorted from Bernabeu during Champions League semi-final.
