A mother of a 14-year-old boy has slammed Manchester United’s superstar Cristiano Ronaldo for assaulting her son on Saturday and said the Portuguese superstar acted as if they owed him a favour.
Ronaldo appeared to have slapped a phone out of Jake Harding's hand as the football headed towards the dressing room following their 0-1 defeat to Everton on Saturday.
According to a report in British tabloid the Sun, mum Sarah Kelly claimed that her son was left with bruises on his hand after the incident. She said that they have no interest in meeting Ronaldo after his representatives reached out to them.
"I've got nothing to say to [him]. Why should I travel to Old Trafford? Why would a Blue want to go to [visit] a Red? If he 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."
Police are already investigating the incident.
The force in Liverpool is appealing for witnesses after footage was posted on social media.
"As players were leaving the pitch at 2:30 p.m., it was reported that a boy was assaulted by one of the away team as they left the pitch," Merseyside Police said on Sunday.
"Inquiries are under way and officers are currently working with Everton Football Club to review CCTV (video) footage and are carrying out extensive witness enquiries to establish if an offence has taken place."
Ronaldo said it was "never easy to deal with emotions in difficult moments such as the one we are facing."
In a post on Instagram on Saturday, Ronaldo added: "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."
United fell to seventh and six points behind the four Champions League qualification places.
