ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: GUARDIOLA RESPONDS TO A PETITION TO BAR HAALAND FROM PLAYING IN ENGLISH FOOTBALL

Pep Guardiola, manager of Manchester City, dismissed rival fans' online petitions to ban Erling Haaland as a "joke."

Since joining City from Borussia Dortmund in the summer, Haaland has scored 19 goals in 12 appearances.

This includes three hat-tricks in just eight Premier League games, with his third treble coming in last Sunday's 6-3 win over Manchester United.

On Wednesday, Haaland scored two more goals in a 5-0 Champions League victory over Copenhagen.

At least two online petitions have been circulated in the last week calling for Haaland to be barred from playing in English football because his presence is unfair to the other teams.

Guardiola laughed off the attempt during a press conference on Friday ahead of Southampton's weekend visit.

"Yeah, it's a joke," a happy Guardiola said, "it's a joke, it's good."