The incident involving Cristiano Ronaldo occurred after Manchester United’s 1-0 defeat by Everton at Goodison Park
(Picture: Getty Images)The mother of a young Everton fan who seemingly had his phone slapped out of his hand by Cristiano Ronaldo in a controversial incident last weekend has rejected the Manchester United star’s offer to meet him and attend a match at Old Trafford.
A frustrated Ronaldo was caught on camera appearing to knock 14-year-old Jake Harding’s phone to the ground as he left the pitch and headed down the Goodison Park tunnel following United’s dismal 1-0 defeat on Merseyside on Saturday.
Merseyside Police have since confirmed they are investigating the incident that Jake’s mother Sarah Kelly called an “assault” and said left her son, who has autism and dyspraxia and was attending his first match at the weekend, with a smashed phone and bruise to his hand.
“We can confirm that we are liaising with Manchester United Football Club and Everton FC following reports of an alleged assault at the Everton v Manchester United football match at Goodison,” police said in a statement.
“As players were leaving the pitch at 2.30pm, it was reported that a boy was assaulted by one of the away team as they left the pitch. Inquiries are under way and officers are currently working with Everton Football Club to review CCTV footage and are carrying out extensive witness inquiries to establish if an offence has taken place.
“Anyone with information on this incident is asked to contact Merseyside police social media desk via Twitter MerPolCC or Facebook Merseyside police contact centre quoting reference number 228 of 9 April 2022.”
Ronaldo subsequently issued a social media apology after the incident, writing on Instagram: “It’s never easy to deal with emotions in difficult moments such as the one we are facing. Nevertheless, we always have to be respectful, patient and set the example for all the youngsters who love the beautiful game.
“I would like to apologize for my outburst and, if possible, I would like to invite this supporter to watch a game at Old Trafford as a sign of fair-play and sportsmanship.”
However, Ms Kelly says she has no intention of taking her son to Old Trafford to meet Ronaldo and watch a United game as she heavily criticised the Portuguese forward’s apology.
“I’ve got nothing to say to [him],” she told Sky News. “Why should I travel to Old Trafford? Why would ‘a Blue’ want to go to [visit] ‘a Red’?”
Ms Kelly added: “If he [Ronaldo] was genuine, I think he should have turned around at the moment of the incident, picked Jake’s phone up and been like, ‘I’m sorry’.
“That was the biggest laugh for me: ‘sportsmanship’. When you can do that to a 14-year-old boy. That’s not sportsmanship at all.”
