Cristiano Ronaldo has been cautioned by police after knocking an autistic boy’s phone to the floor.
Sarah Kelly, from Upton, took her 14-year-old son Jake Harding to Goodison Park on Saturday, April 9 for his first match. The two sat in the Park End to watch Everton beat Manchester United 1-0.
Jake was filming the Manchester United players leaving the pitch at full-time when Ronaldo is alleged to have swiped a mobile phone out of someone’s hand. Sarah told the ECHO that the phone belonged to Jake and claimed that the Portuguese striker "assaulted" him, bruising his hand, by knocking the object to the floor.
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In a statement today, Merseyside Police told the Mirror : “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.
After the incident the youngster’s mum Sarah Kelly said: “At full-time the United players started walking off. We were right by the tunnel - my son was there, videoing them all. Ronaldo then just walked past, with a terrible, terrible temper, and smashed the phone out of his hand.
“You can see by the bruise that he’s made contact. I was crying, I was shook up, Jacob was in complete shock - he’s autistic and he’s got dyspraxia as well, so he didn’t really digest what was happening until he’s come home. He’s really upset and it’s put him off going to the game again. We had an absolutely brilliant day up until those final few seconds.”
Sarah, from Upton, added: “He’s an idol. Yes, he’s not from Everton, but Ronaldo’s a big player.
“My son’s always been like ‘Ronaldo’s going to be there’ - he’s an icon. I’d understand if Jake was waving it in his face, but he wasn’t. He’s an autistic boy and he’s been assaulted by a football player, that’s how I see it as a mum.”
Ronaldo later posted an apology online, saying: “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 apologise 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.”
But Sarah said: “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. It’s in the hands of the police.”
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