'Players are fed up' - are autograph hunters going too far?
· Yahoo Sports
Outside the training ground. At the traffic lights. At a petrol station. In a hotel lobby. Outside their family home.
The places where football players and managers are approached to sign autographs can vary from mundane and understandable to invasive and inappropriate.
Visit saltysenoritaaz.org for more information.
Crucially, there are two different kinds of autograph hunters. There are the legitimate fans looking for a keepsake to cherish for a lifetime, but also professional vendors building up a bank of merchandise to be sold online.
The hunters making a living from sourcing autographs are often seasoned operators and approach players with organised packs of shirts and photographs, aiming to get as much as possible signed in the space of a few seconds.
But how do the footballers being approached feel, and are some of the interactions going too far?
How do autograph hunters interact with stars?
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 a backlash by saying he felt "exposed" and claimed some fans "are not doing it for the right reasons".
Last year, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola furiously berated a group of hunters who approached him at a car park near his home, lambasting their career choice, telling 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 estimated to be worth billions of pounds globally per year, underlining the wealth professional hunters can generate by regularly seeking out stars.
Clubs sometimes have to step in and protect players, including banning professional hunters from operating outside training grounds, providing security staff at nearby petrol stations where hunters know players stop to fill up their cars, and in some cases helping escort them home.
In 2023 Manchester United's Mason Mount was filmed telling hunters to stop following him home after they had done so on consecutive days.
And earlier this month United defender Noussair Mazraoui was recorded comically scribbling half-hearted signatures on a set of shirts given to him by a hunter who approached him at his car window after training.
"Players get really fed up with it," says Premier League winner Chris Sutton.
"I've had it loads of times as a player and as a pundit. They stand outside the BBC studio and ask me to sign 12 number nine shirts all at once. I queried it recently and said 'you're going to flog these online, aren't you?'
"It's so annoying that the intention is to make money out of players and other high-profile people. It's up to the player, manager, or has-been like myself to make a judgement call in the moment.
"If we say no, then the spurned party will often abuse the person who turned them down and out them online or publicly.
"It's out of order as genuine autograph hunters must get fed up with these imposters who are doing it for the wrong reasons.
"These people spoil it for kids and genuine fans."
Individual items bearing Chris Sutton's signature are being sold for up to £500 by one UK-based sports memorabilia website [Getty Images]How do players feel about professional sellers?
Most sportspeople are happy to make a fan's day by spending a quick moment with them and signing an autograph.
But when regular hunters show up confrontations can occur, especially if their behaviour is aggressive.
"You get the people who are desperate for your autograph but also want to spend a bit of time with you and get that connection," says Phil Jagielka, who made 40 appearances for England between 2008 and 2016.
"That's all fine, but then you also get the ones that you see all the time.
"Some of them are very clever with the way they do it - they send their kids, or they bring their mates.
"There have been times when there have been confrontations. I remember one at Everton where the guy tried having a go at me - he would hand you 20 of the same card, and you would either not sign them all or your signature would become less enthusiastic as it went on because you knew he was going to sell them on."
In some instances players can sympathise with the reasoning while refusing to tolerate discourtesy.
"He would openly tell you he was going to sell them, but in his eyes that would pay for his tickets to watch us in London," Jagielka adds.
"Most fans are really respectful and thankful of you doing it. They are never disrespectful until they don't get what they want."
Are some genuine fans becoming less respectful?
Throughout the growth of women's football, fans have enjoyed closer access to stars in the Women's Super League than their Premier League counterparts. For the most part, those encounters are friendly, safe, and polite.
But some players feel interactions have become increasingly rude and disrespectful in recent seasons.
Nikita Parris, part of England's 2022 Euros-winning squad, revealed she was asked to sign shirts by some of the same Manchester United fans who had booed her during London City Lionesses' draw with her former club in February.
"There does seem to have been a shift in the past few years - there feels to me more of a sense of entitlement with some fans now," says Helen Ward, who played in the top flight for Arsenal, Chelsea, Reading and Watford, and is the second top goalscorer in Welsh international history.
"Supporters having a bit more access to players has been a big part of the uniqueness of the women's game, and when I was playing we always wanted to make time for them and show we were grateful for them being there," Ward adds.
"[More recently] some people feel because they've paid for a ticket they are entitled to the attention of the players before or after the game.
"No player wants to ignore the fans, but there are times and places where it is appropriate, and potential security risks need to be taken into account.
"There has to be mutual respect and it should be managed in a way we haven't had to do it before - in a controlled, safe environment.
"You have to still have those moments so that little girls don't lose heart and think 'my heroes don't care about me'."
Helen Ward is now head of women's football at former club Watford [Getty Images]Fans risk buying fakes online
Items signed by top names and then listed online by autograph hunters can sell for tens of thousands of pounds.
But not every piece of signed memorabilia bought will turn out to be legitimate.
In some cases, online stores are set up by fraudsters who forge items by purchasing products before adding a fake signature - either by doing so themselves or employing the services of expert handwriting copiers.
One of the reasons fraudulent dealers can get away with their crimes is because autograph verification is an unregulated process in the UK. Most items come with a certificate of authenticity, but that certificate is only as legitimate as the organisation which awards it, and those organisations can be completely unvetted.
In 2018, a man was jailed for six years after earning more than £1m from selling fake signed sports memorabilia for almost a decade.
Manchester United record scorer Wayne Rooney helped prove the fraudster's guilt - he examined a shirt supposedly signed by him which was purchased by Trading Standards, and confirmed it was illegitimate.
Even paying a high price, then, is no guarantee fans are buying the real deal.