Soccer-Sweden's Asllani gives away special shirt after fan's heartfelt plea
ST. GALLEN, Switzerland (Reuters) -Sweden captain Kosovare Asllani had every intention of keeping the shirt she wore for her 200th cap in her side's 1-0 win over Denmark in their Women's Euros opener last week, but a woman's pleas from the stands as she left the pitch put paid to that idea.
"She was my mum's age and I thought, 'If she really wants it, she can have it'. I have so many shirts at home anyway," Asllani told reporters after her side progressed to the knockout rounds following a 3-0 win over Poland on Tuesday.
"I wanted to keep it, but when the woman's voice sounded so desperate as she called out, I decided I wanted to give it away."
The 35-year-old, whose parents are from Kosovo, said she was a little surprised when she heard the fan, identified by Swedish newspaper Expressen as a 60-year-old Geneva resident from Kosovo named Flora, called out to her.
"It was nice, I knew she was from Kosovo, she called to me in Albanian. She was my mother's age and very sweet, she deserved it," Asllani said.
The fan said that the Swedish captain, who created one goal and scored another in her side's win over Poland, was her favourite player and that she had a plan for what she wanted to do with the shirt.
"I'm going to take the shirt with me to Kosovo, where her parents are from, to share my joy with her fans there," Flora told Expressen.
(Reporting by Philip O'ConnorEditing by Toby Davis)
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