A young autistic Everton supporter's mum has criticised Manchester United after believing they failed to punish Cristiano Ronaldo following an incident at Goodison Park last season.
When Ronaldo and his teammates were exiting the pitch on Merseyside after a disappointing defeat to Frank Lampard's side, Jacob Harding was filming the players. Harding then had his phone knocked out of his hand by the forward, smashing it on the floor.
Following the incident, Ronaldo was given a police caution in April and the forward apologised for his actions. In a statement on Instagram, he wrote: "It’s never easy to deal with emotions in difficult moments such as the one we are facing.
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"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 invite this supporter to watch a game at Old Trafford as a sign of fair-play and sportsmanship."
The 14-year-old suffered a bruised and puffy hand after the incident and while his mum Sarah Kelly, 37, welcomed the news this week that Ronaldo had been fined £50,000 for improper and/or violent conduct by the FA and handed a two-game ban, if he joins another Premier League club, she was critical with United's handling of the incident.
She told the Daily Mirror : "I welcome the fact he has been fined. It’s been a long time coming.
"The FA rang me to tell me beforehand that he was getting the suspension and the fine. It would be nice now if they gave the £50,000 to charity, maybe one for autistic children."
Kelly was also critical of how long the process had taken to punish Ronaldo over the incident.
"They [United] should have taken action against Ronaldo a long time ago," Kelly added. "This happened in April. I’ve been getting attacked online for dragging it on when it was everyone else taking their time.
"I’ve had no apology whatsoever from Manchester United. They haven’t once reached out to me."
United believe that because Ronaldo apologised for the incident shortly after it occurred that the matter has already been addressed.
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