The 14-year-old boy who Cristiano Ronaldo allegedly 'assaulted' and 'bruised' at Goodison Park has declined the Manchester United star's invitation to Old Trafford.
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.
READ MORE: Underworld plot to 'carve up' enemy criminal and 'kill his mum'
Merseyside Police confirmed on Saturday that it was investigating reports that a boy had been allegedly assaulted by an away player. Additionally, The Football Association (FA) told the ECHO on Monday: “We are aware of the incident and will be seeking observations on the matter from both clubs and the player involved.”
A spokesperson for Manchester United confirmed that the club will cooperate with the FA and the police's inquiries. Additionally, Ronaldo took to Instagram on Saturday night to apologise for his 'outburst'.
He said: "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."
Sarah told the ECHO on Monday that she has been contacted by Manchester United but has been unimpressed by the club and Ronaldo's public response. Regarding the response from Manchester United, Sarah said to the ECHO: "United have handled it terribly and it's just made things even worse to be honest."
In reply to Ronaldo's invitation to Old Trafford and his apology, which she described as 'backhanded', 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."
Sarah 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.
"They're not my words, they’re my son’s words. At the end of the day, this is what it’s about. It’s affected him more than it’s affected me, so I have put everything to him to make his own mind up on - he doesn’t want to go to United, he doesn’t want to go to see Ronaldo. All that I’m saying right now is that it’s in the hands of the police."
On Monday, a Merseyside Police spokesperson told the ECHO: "Following an incident at Goodison Park on Saturday 9th April, we are working with Everton Football Club and have been in touch with the boy’s family. The matter is under investigation and we are gathering information. Our enquiries remain ongoing at this time.
*See video below - contains some strong language:
"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 22000243890"
However, Sarah was effusive in her praise for Everton, who have offered Jake a shirt signed by Jordan Pickford and Richarlison, match tickets and the chance to meet the players at some point in the future. She said: " Everton, it’s the People’s Club and they haven’t half come through for Jake. It’s really cheered him up this afternoon. It was lovely to see because something nice has come out of something horrible."
She continued: "He just broke down in tears when I told him what Everton were going to do for him. He just said ‘that’s why I Iove the Blues’. He’s going to get a signed shirt from Richarlison and Pickford and hopefully when things settle down with covid, they’re going to do a meet for him. He wants to meet Frank Lampard - he loves 'Super Frank' and hopefully they’re going to sort tickets for next week’s Leicester game.
"They asked us do we want to sit by where we were (for the Manchester United game) and that was a no straight away from Jake. He said 'no mum, I don't want to go back there', so we kind of do have a bit of a bad memory.
"We’re hoping that if we sit somewhere a bit more positive and away from the away side, and more of our home side, he might feel a bit more comfortable. I’m just pleased that he’s taken the option to go back to the game."
