Cristiano Ronaldo has been charged with 'improper and/or violent conduct' by the FA after appearing to smash a Everton fan's phone at the end of last season.
Manchester United icon Cristiano Ronaldo was on Friday charged by the Football Association (FA) with 'improper and/or violent conduct' following an incident that took place after the club's fixture at Everton last April.
The Red Devils were beaten 1-0 at Goodison Park. While leaving the pitch after the final whistle was blown, Ronaldo appeared to grab a phone from a 14-year-old Everton supporter Jake Harding's hand and smashed it angrily into the ground.
Ronaldo smashing someone’s phone after fulltime… the most arrogant footballer ever pic.twitter.com/iVm3KRhsXP
— Hamza (@lapulgafreak)Also read: Ronaldo's sister defends 'most beautiful human being' after phone incident at Everton
Merseyside Police previously cautioned the Portuguese icon following the incident in April 2022, and the FA has now slapped him with a charge of breaching Rule E3 - which relates to violent and/or improper conduct.
"Regulation and Discipline update: Cristiano Ronaldo has been charged with a breach of FA Rule E3 for an incident that took place after Manchester United FC's Premier League match against Everton FC on Saturday 9 April 2022. It is alleged that the forward's conduct after the final whistle was improper and/or violent," an FA statement read.
Following the incident, Ronaldo apologised and even offered the Everton fan a visit to Old Trafford in a display of 'fair-play and sportsmanship'. However, the boy's mother declined that offer, "It's like we owe him a favour but I'm sorry, we don't. It's in the hands of the police."
Ronaldo will likely face a fine and possibly a suspension if found guilty. Meanwhile, a statement from Manchester United read: "We note the FA announcement in relation to Cristiano Ronaldo. We will be supporting the player in his response to the charge."
The 37-year-old is currently on international duty with Portugal, who take on the Czech Republic and Spain in the UEFA Nations League over the coming days. Manchester United face Manchester City on October 2 in their Premier League clash.
Twitter exploded with reactions following FA's decision to charge Ronaldo, with some users trolling the five-time Ballon d'Or winner with predictions of punishment he should face. Football fans also noted the delay in FA's decision for an incident that occurred in April, with some noting the timing of the charge coming just a week before the Manchester derby at Etihad Stadium.
Also read: Will Cristiano Ronaldo retire after World Cup 2022? Portugal legend reveals future plans
Here's a look at some of the reactions on the micro-blogging site:
He was a cunt in ther words, spoilt finished old man https://t.co/RrmiW2XebF
— FredPUFC (@SosijFred)Smashes a fan's phone in April, cautioned by police in August and now charged by the FA in September. 🤔 https://t.co/TmbjkDoRYb
— Rohith Nair (@RohithNair)🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿 https://t.co/xZNtGIFPuG
— Marga Martin-Lund ︽✵︽ (@burrakan)Ronaldo hearing this news https://t.co/bKB5nqoeky pic.twitter.com/EZlGtItRjH
— SQ (@__SQ____)WTF it happened in APRIL FFS why did it take them pricks at the FA so f**king long to change Cristiano 😡🤦🏻♀️🤬 https://t.co/ngyGZDf35C
— Kerry Louise (@KerryKez7)ahead of derby......What a shit agenda https://t.co/PARTuSRv0n
— U. (@Notcurable_)whole season ban 🤞 https://t.co/05LevujVDZ
— benny j.h. (@pyshagoras)It's just the six months since the incident to decide this.
Did a South African commission investigate it?😂 https://t.co/oK1JB2uy0m
Only took them 5 months! https://t.co/9uwmT1To4u
— Hussein (@themexicanlad)Seems to me the only acceptable punishment is to terminate his contract https://t.co/5izCVB2v2G
— Ted (@TedJoyce_)Life time ban please https://t.co/vN8aYAbeJM
— Waqas. (@VickzTiwana)How convenient when the next game is City.
This was over 5 months ago and the police investigation has been over for some time. https://t.co/d2ZJhJ5vUW
32 game ban only fair https://t.co/RzNOeZkK2n
— J… (@yehsmacked)FA is incredibly corrupt. This happened ages ago but now that the next game is against City, MONTHS after the incident, during an entirely DIFFERENT season. will never be a respectable organization. https://t.co/wN5gbIK9Ab
— lane (@RonaldoandVibes)Should be banned for life for his disgusting behaviour https://t.co/F8vleYkElm
— Niall 💚💚 (@Niall_pafc)“It was near 6 months ago…”
He’s clearly denied it and got found guilty… I’m guessing it’s the kids phone. In which case there was no abusive language etc and should result in fine only no match ban.
But we play city so… probably at least 1 match ban. 😂 https://t.co/U7rWhxom8D
ARREST THIS MAN IMMEDIATELY https://t.co/vDNegGy7Pv
— David De Gaddafi (@ballsinspector)Thot it was abt Vegas ‘09 https://t.co/y7ySgbJsH3 pic.twitter.com/4jJDcMIAQz
— - (@BL4KEGRIFFIN)Another witch hunt. They wouldn’t bother if it was any other club. https://t.co/wsw32Ae6PY
— Andy (@WEWANTGLAZEROUT)Interesting move from the to wait 5 months until the following season, when ’s next game is the Manchester Derby, to decide to charge Ronaldo - what if he had left in the Summer? https://t.co/jKewU7CGRn
— Matthew Leggett (@RealMattLeggett)ban him from playing in England https://t.co/znLinOTymJ
— Vedant (@monalisandro)This is what winds me right up. charged by over an ‘incident’ yet the Glazer family have financially destroyed Manchester United and syphoned out over £2.2bn over 17 years, and the authorities say nothing. Think the FA has its priorities massively wrong! https://t.co/64yq71zIjv
— Darren (@MerelyDarren)