Erling Haaland is one of the most famous footballers in the world, and that makes his name extremely useful to people trying to make a story go viral.
The Norwegian striker is currently enjoying another major career moment after scoring the late goal that helped Norway beat Ivory Coast and reach the last 16 of the World Cup.
That success has put Haaland back at the center of global football conversation.
It also makes an earlier viral claim about him worth revisiting.
A few months ago, social media posts began circulating that claimed Haaland had refused to participate in Premier League Pride activities.
Some posts alleged that he had refused to wear a rainbow armband.
Others attributed a quote to him saying that football should be about “goals, team spirit and performances” rather than “politics or social movements.”
There is no credible evidence that Haaland ever made that statement.
The claim does not appear to have come from reputable sports reporting, Manchester City, the Norwegian national team, or Haaland himself.
Instead, it spread through engagement-driven social media pages, parody-style accounts and posts designed to turn LGBTQ+ inclusion in sport into a culture-war argument.
The false story landed in a climate where Pride campaigns in football were already being debated.
The Premier League ended its long-running partnership with Stonewall’s Rainbow Laces campaign before moving toward its own LGBTQ+ inclusion work.
Reuters reported at the time that the league had not banned rainbow armbands or laces, despite viral posts claiming otherwise.
That distinction matters because misinformation often works by mixing a real development with a false personal accusation.
In this case, the real development was the changing structure of Premier League inclusion campaigns.
The false claim was that Haaland had personally rejected Pride support and made an anti-LGBTQ statement.
There is no solid evidence for that claim.
For LGBTQ+ readers and football fans, the story is a reminder to be careful with viral screenshots, especially when they involve celebrities or athletes supposedly making inflammatory statements.
Famous names generate attention, and attention can quickly become outrage.
Haaland may be making headlines for Norway on the pitch, but this particular Pride controversy appears to belong in a different category.
It was not a football story.
It was a misinformation story.
📷 Norges Fotballforbund
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