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.”
