Krishnan Sreekumar
Mother of Everton boy who had phone smashed by Manchester United ace Cristiano Ronaldo slammed for ‘rude’ apology
Speaking to The Telegraph (Subscription Required), Sarah Kelly, the mother of Jacob Harding who had his phone smashed by Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo has slammed the player for the rude apology he offered her son.
After his side’s 1-0 defeat to Everton over the weekend, Ronaldo was seen appearing to lap Harding’s phone to the ground as he left the pitch. This incident has since been taken up by the police and the Football Association for an investigation.
The Portugal skipper later took to social media for a public apology for his “outburst” and included an invite to Old Trafford for “this supporter”, but was slammed for his apology by Kelly.
“The apology or lack of apology was what angered me even more. I thought, ‘How rude – you are telling everybody you have apologised and you haven’t’. OK, you have put it out to social media but …you should be apologising to my son.”
The mother and her son watched their side take a big step towards escaping the threat of relegation by beating United at home, but had to leave Goodison Park in unfortunate circumstances as Ronaldo appeared to slap Jacob’s phone to the ground as he left the pitch.
“I would have been happy with that”
Kelly and her 14-year-old autistic son were watching their first Premier League match together, but the pair had to deal with unpleasant memories of the viewing despite Everton’s victory. Instead of heading home happy with the win, they were immediately taken into a room to give a statement.
She said that they had heard nothing personally from the club or player that day, and eventually had to settle for an impersonal apology posted later that evening on Instagram by Ronaldo. Kelly also suggested that she would have been happy if he had spoken to her or her son later on and goes on to list what she thinks would have been the appropriate response.
“He [Ronaldo] had several hours to ponder on it. He should have found out our contact details… been private, said he had spoken to us and released something. I would have been happy with that.”
The Red Devils had a tough time against the Toffees on Merseyside over the weekend, losing narrowly to ruin their chances of finishing in the top-four of the Premier League by the end of the season in order to qualify for the Champions League next term.
Ronaldo once again blanked in front of goal, seeing his efforts repelled by Jordan Pickford and was kept quiet by a stubborn Everton defence. The player seems to have misplaced his scoring boots since the turn of the new year, and it has resulted in the 37-year-old looking frustrated on the pitch.
The words from the kid’s mother that we read above seem like the words of a person trying to make the most out of this situation- to gain as much as they can from the situation. While they are well within their rights to pursue any legal course of action they want- considering they were at the receiving end of Ronaldo’s misdirected anger- it is a bit odd seeing the mother explain in detail what she thinks is worth the equivalent of what her son suffered.
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There is surely a more amicable solution to this and the woman taking to the media to slam Ronaldo’s apology indicates that more is expected from Ronaldo here. It remains to be seen what comes of this incident but it will serve as a reminder for all footballers that they cannot act in such a manner against fans of any club.
With the club struggling in the league and Ronaldo looking out of form and confidence, it remains to be seen whether he chooses to continue his career in Manchester next season. For now, he will need to pull up his socks to ensure that he puts this defeat behind him and help the team finish the campaign strongly.
