Merseyside Police have launched an investigation into an incident involving Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo.
On Saturday, the 37-year-old soccer player's team lost a match to Everton, and shortly after, Ronaldo allegedly smashed a phone out of an autistic teenager's hand.
At the end of the game, Ronaldo was caught on camera walking off the pitch as he headed to the changing room with his teammates.
Jake Harding, a 14-year-old Everton fan, had been filming the players as they walked off.
In a video that has since gone viral, the Portuguese striker is seen lowering his hand, apparently with force.
According to the boy's mother, Sarah Kelly, Ronaldo had knocked the phone her son had been using to film the players out of his hand and onto the ground. He then continued to walk off, she says.
Check out the video below:Now, as reported by ITV, local police is probing the incident.
According to the outlet, a spokesperson for Merseyside Police said: “We can confirm that we are liaising with Manchester United Football Club and Everton FC following reports of an alleged assault at the Everton v Manchester United football match at Goodison.
“As players were leaving the pitch at 2:30 PM, it was reported that a boy was assaulted by one of the away team as they left the pitch.
“Inquiries are under way and officers are currently working with Everton Football Club to review CCTV footage and are carrying out extensive witness enquiries to establish if an offence has taken place.
“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 228 of 9 April 2022.”
On the same day of the incident, Ronaldo took to Instagram to apologize without confirming that he had indeed "smashed" the phone out of the teen's hand, supposedly leaving it bruised.
He wrote: "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."
Ronaldo has continued to receive criticism in the comments of his post, with one fan responding: "U have to buy him a new phone too wth man ur supposed to be an inspiration to ur fans. [sic]"
Kelly has since called into question how genuine his apology was, saying: "If he [Ronaldo] 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'.
"That was the biggest laugh for me: 'sportsmanship'. When you can do that to a 14-year-old boy. That's not sportsmanship at all."
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