Cristiano Ronaldo faces a FA investigation into an incident at Goodison Park which saw him knock a teenage boy's phone to the ground.
Merseyside Police confirmed on Wednesday (August 17) that the forward received a caution for his actions, which took place after Everton's 1-0 victory over Manchester United on April 9, 2022. The force told the Mirror yesterday : “We can confirm that a 37-year-old man voluntarily attended and was interviewed under caution in relation to an allegation of assault and criminal damage.
"The allegation relates to an incident following the Everton v Manchester United football match at Goodison Park on Saturday 9 April. The matter has been dealt with by way of conditional caution. The matter has now concluded." It is understood Ronaldo has agreed to pay compensation to the schoolboy.
READ MORE: Mum claims Cristiano Ronaldo 'assaulted' and 'bruised' her son at Everton match
Now that Merseyside Police's investigation has concluded, the FA has stated that it will recommence its investigation and will seek observations from Ronaldo.
Following the incident in April, Sarah Kelly told the ECHO that Ronaldo "smashed the phone" out of her 14-year-old son Jake Harding's hand, "bruising" him in the process. Jake, from Upton, was attending his first Everton game and he sat in the Park End with his mum to watch Everton claim a crucial victory in the battle to escape relegation.
Sarah told the ECHO : "At full-time the Man United players started walking off. We were in the Park End so we were right by the tunnel where they came walking past - my son was there videoing them all.
"He filmed all the United players walking through. And then he lowered his phone because Ronaldo had pulled down his sock and his leg was bleeding. He lowered his phone to see what it was - he didn’t even speak. Ronaldo then just walked past, with a terrible, terrible temper and smashed the phone out of my son’s hand and carried on walking."
Sarah said that the incident left Jake, who is autistic and has dyspraxia, in "complete shock" and it ruined his first match at Goodison. Ronaldo took to Instagram to respond after the incident on April 9.
He wrote: "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, Jake turned down the Portuguese star's invitation. Sarah explained to the ECHO : "The way I see it is, if someone assaulted him in the street and then asked us to go around for dinner, we wouldn’t. Just because he’s Cristiano Ronaldo, why would we do it? It’s like we owe him a favour, but I’m sorry, we don’t."
She added: "We’ve kindly declined the offer to go to United because Jake doesn’t want to go there and he doesn’t want to see Ronaldo. He’s made that pretty clear."
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