A bad weekend is turning into a horrible week for Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo. After offering an apology on social media to Everton fan Jake Harding and his mother Sarah Kelly, in the court of public opinion it was not enough. For Kelly the apology on social media is also not enough as Ronaldo had to arrive at Manchester United training in the backseat of a car to avoid the press.
Kelly had told Sky Sports that her son is not interested in meeting Cristiano Ronaldo or going to see him live at a Manchester United game, “I’ve got nothing to say to [Ronaldo]. Why should I travel to Old Trafford? Why would ‘a Blue’ want to go to [visit] ‘a Red’? Kelly would later go on to question Cristiano Ronaldo’s sportsmanship and claim that Manchester United have handled the situation “terribly”. “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” Kelly added to Echo.
When it comes to his public image Save the Children, for which Cristiano Ronaldo was an ambassador, has dropped the former Real Madrid player according to reports. The organization prioritizes the safety of children and the Portuguese player’s actions “crossed the line”.
Repercussions of Cristiano Ronaldo smacking Everton fan’s phone
Jake Harding (Daily Mail)
For Ronaldo being dropped from Save the Children could be the start of many sponsors walking away from the 37-year-old. Merseyside Police on their end are continuing their investigation into the matter, in which video was captured of Ronaldo smacking the cellphone from Jake Harding’s hand while entering the dressing room. While the police are talking to both clubs, Ronaldo is yet to be interviewed on the matter.
Ronaldo could also face a sanction from the Premier League for the incident, while on social media many teammates and former teammates have stood up for Ronaldo answering and liking his apology on Instagram.
On Tuesday Ronaldo arrived at Manchester United practice in the backseat of a car to avoid the press, while Former Crystal Palace owner Simon Jordan spoke to talkSPORT stating he believes Ronaldo should buy Harding a new mobile phone but pointed out to be careful to the media for calling the incident “assault”: “I think we need to be careful with using the word assault. What you have seen is a player behave petulantly… we need to be careful how we categorize things. It was inappropriate from Ronaldo, whatever fit or peak he is in, whatever he is not used to. He is not used to playing in teams which lose in the manner Manchester United do, he has not played his career in teams that lose like this, but he has time to get used to this.”
Manchester United will not suspend or punish Ronaldo for the incident at the moment and play a home game against Norwich on Saturday. As for Sarah Kelly, she has maintained that she has received online abuse by Manchester United supporters over the incident.
The incident is yet another punch to the gut for a Manchester United team that has found no peace this season, with managerial changes, lifeless performances against elite clubs, and now this.
