Cristiano Ronaldo branded as ‘arrogant’ after incident with 14-year-old boy
The Portuguese international was only given a caution for slapping Everton fan Jacob Harding’s phone out of his hand last season.
Last season Cristiano Ronaldo left Goodison Park in a rage after Manchester United lost to Everton and as he was walking out, he slapped the cell phone out of an Everton fan’s hand. The 14-year-old boy was identified as Jacob Harding and he was said to be left with a bruised hand after the incident which occurred in April.
Harding then became a victim of online trolling that blamed him for the incident and his mom, Sarah Kelly, said that Ronaldo hadn’t offered to replace the smashed phone and he also didn’t immediately apologize for his behavior. But the 37-year-old did go on to apologize and was later questioned by the police about the situation.
Ronaldo tried to contact her after the incident
Sarah is now thinking about taking legal actions against the Manchester United player because he was let go with a caution for assault and criminal damage last week. She said that Ronaldo’s personal assistant did reach out and offered her and Jacob, who is autistic, to meet him, but Kelly declined the offer.
She explained that a day after the incident, a man called Sergio claiming to be Ronaldo’s PA called her with an offer to meet the player at Old Trafford., and asked her: “Do you know who Ronaldo is?”
“I told him, ‘Of course I do and the answer is no. I hung up and was shaking and crying. I felt intimidated. How dare they?” said Sarah during an interview with The Mirror. She even described the player, who called her a few days later, as “the most arrogant man I’ve ever spoken to.”
The Merseyside mother had provided a statement to police after the assault and explained more in the interview.
“The phone rang again and a man said, ‘Hello this is Cristiano Ronaldo.’
“He asked me if I would like to come down and meet his family. He said, ‘I’m not a bad dad.’ I said to him, ‘I never said you were a bad dad.’
He said, ‘I had a terrible upbringing, I lost my dad.’ I said to him, ‘Everybody has a sob story Ronaldo, I lost my dad young, I’ve had cancer.’
“He kept calling me Jack and didn’t even know my name and I said, ‘My name is Sarah’ and he said, ‘Oh, Sarah, I’m sorry.’
Ronaldo’s statement after the incident
Following the initial incident, this was the message issued by the United star.
“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.”