American referee criticized for requesting for shirts from Pepe and Ronaldo

Mark Geiger (C) giving instructions to players. [Photo/Courtesy]

Morrocan winger Nordin Amrabat has reportedly slammed American referee Mark Geiger for requesting for jerseys of Portuguese players after the World Cup match, in which Morocco lost by a single goal to Portugal.

Watford winger has claimed that the Geiger approached Potrtuguese defender Pepe and the match day scorer Cristiano Ronaldo for their shirts shortly after the match.

Sources indicate that furious Amrabat termed the incident as sad, adding that the tournament is ‘World Cup and not a circus.’

"I do not know what he is used to, but he was very impressed by Cristiano Ronaldo, and I hear from Pepe that he asked in the first half if he should have his shirt, " he said.

It has not been confirmed whether the match official had his request honoured by Ronaldo and Pepe since no reports have indicated that he took the shirts.

FIFA have not issued statement on the incident so far. Nonetheless, there are no clarity as to whether FIFA rules bar officials from taking jerseys from players after the match.

Exchange of jerseys has been a tradition that many players have practiced. Recently, Uruguayan striker Edinson Cavani swapped jerseys with Egypt’s Mohammed Salah, despite the latter being unused substitute.