Mum of autistic boy whose phone was smashed by Cristiano Ronaldo demands footballer gets punished

The mother of the autistic child whose phone was left smashed by Cristiano Ronaldo is demanding the athlete be appropriately punished after the Football Association charged him for the outburst.

The forward was charged over the weekend after smashing a young Everton fan’s phone out of his hand during Manchester United's 1-0 defeat to Everton at Goodison Park in April.

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— FA Spokesperson (@FAspokesperson) September 23, 2022

However, 14-year-old Jacob Harding's mother, Sarah Kelly, says Ronaldo needs to be punished accordingly following the FA finding him guilty of breaching the E3 rule - relating to ‘improper and/or violent’ behaviour.

She told the Mirror: "It baffles me – he can assault a child and carry on as normal.

"How can he sleep at night knowing the distress he has caused to a young fan?

"He offered us to meet him and said he was sorry but said he had done nothing wrong.

"That's not an apology, that's an insult."

Kelly added her son's hand was left bruised and swollen after the soccer veteran ripped the phone from his hand.

According to the Daily Mail, she revealed: “We were right by the tunnel where they came walking past — my son was there videoing them all. And then he lowered his phone because Ronaldo had pulled down his sock and his leg was bleeding.

“He lowered his phone to see what it was — he didn't even speak. Ronaldo then just walked past, with a terrible, terrible temper and smashed the phone out of my son's hand and carried on walking.”

The mother also said that the incident has also taken an emotional toll on Jacob.

She said: “He should have been dealt with six months ago. My son talks about what happened to him every day. He still hasn't had his phone back.”

Manchester United has announced that they will continue to stand by Ronaldo following FA’s charge.

They wrote in a statement: “We note the FA announcement in relation to Cristiano Ronaldo. We will be supporting the player in his response to the charge."

Shortly after the incident, the 37-year-old apologised to the young soccer fan while inviting him to watch a game at Old Trafford stadium.

“It’s never easy to deal with emotions in difficult moments such as the one we are facing,” Ronaldo wrote via Instagram.

“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.”