Football autographs: Are online poachers overselling players?

When Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was recorded refusing to sign a shirt when a man approached his car after a match recently, he defended himself against the backlash by saying he felt “exposed” and claimed some fans “don’t do it for the right reasons”.

Last year, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola harshly rebuked a group of fishermen who approached him in a car park near his home, criticized their career choice, and told them: “Don’t come again – I won’t tell you again, I know your faces. Do you want to live your life doing this, honestly? What are your dreams?”

The sports memorabilia industry is worth billions of pounds globally every year, underscoring the wealth that professional anglers can make by regularly hunting for the stars.

Clubs sometimes have to step in and protect players, including preventing professional catchers from operating outside training grounds, providing security staff at nearby gas stations where catchers know players stop to fill up their cars, and in some cases helping to escort them home.

In 2023, Manchester United’s Mason Mount was filmed asking poachers to stop following him home after they did so on consecutive days.

Earlier this month, United defender Noussair Mazraoui was recorded scribbling half-hearted signatures on a set of shirts given to him by a fisherman who approached him from his car window after training.

“The players are really fed up with it,” says Chris Sutton, the Premier League winner.

“I’ve been through this many times as a player and as a pundit. They stood outside the BBC studio and asked me to sign 12 shirts with the number nine at once. I recently inquired about it and said ‘You’re going to flog them online, aren’t you?’

“It is very annoying that the intention is to make money from players and other high-profile people. It is up to the player, manager or people like me to decide at the moment.

“If we say no, the rejected party will often take offense at the person who rejected them and post it online or in public.

“It’s out of the system, and signature seekers should be fed up with these scammers who do it for the wrong reasons.

“These people are ruining it for the kids and the real fans.”