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      Premier League international arrested on suspicion of raping two women has bail extended

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      A PREMIER League footballer under investigation for two alleged rapes has had his bail extended by the Met Police.The player is accused of raping two women in separate attacks, one in June this year and one in April 2021.
      The star was arrested on suspicion of rape in JulyCredit: Getty
      The international star, 29, was arrested at his North London home on suspicion of rape in July after an alleged victim came forward.
      She claimed she was raped during a sunshine break in the Mediterranean in June.
      The alleged victim fled her five-star resort and flew home to her friends and family.
      She spoke to police on her return to the UK and attended a police station to make a full statement.
      She showed detectives photos that she claimed highlighted bruising on her body after the alleged attack.
      After his initial arrest he was later re-arrested on suspicion of two more counts from April and June 2021.
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      Cops later decided not to pursue the latter of those two accusations.
      He was bailed to August, which was then extended to this month and has now been extended again.
      A magistrates court is likely to approve the extension and confirm the bail conditions next week.
      It was previously reported that his club knew of the accusations last autumn, but that the player continued to play last season and has been a regular in 2022-23.
      He was also reportedly due to play in the World Cup in Qatar next month.
      The club confirmed in July that it would select him until further notice and that he would not be suspended.
      Neither the club nor the player are being named for legal reasons.
      A statement from The Met said: “On 4 July, a 29-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of rape and taken into custody.
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      “While in custody, he was further arrested on suspicion of two incidents of rape that were alleged to have been committed in April and June of 2021 against a different woman in her 20s.
      “The man was bailed until a date in early October but his bail has since been extended further – an exact date has yet to be confirmed.” More

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      Death Is Rare at Soccer Games, but Aggressive Policing Can Light a Match

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      This is not the first time this year that the sport has had to confront the reality that tragedies often result from failures of policing, security and crowd management.The tear gas still hung thick in the air at Kanjuruhan Stadium in Malang, Indonesia, as law enforcement reached into a playbook that is grimly familiar across the world.Officers had been given no choice but to fire the chemical into the crowd, the police chief for the province of East Java, Nico Afinta, said, “because there was anarchy.” The nightmarish scale of the disaster was not yet clear. Yet the police, the chief said, had to act. “They were about to attack the officers and had damaged the cars,” he said.The accusation that fans were to blame for another soccer tragedy was immediately recognizable from the tragedy at the Olembé Stadium in Cameroon — where eight people died in January during the Africa Cup of Nations — and the near miss in May at the Champions League final, European soccer’s showpiece game, in Paris.Those two incidents happened this year, but the trope dates back further: for example, to Port Said, Egypt, where 74 fans were killed in 2012; to Sheffield, England, where 97 Liverpool supporters went to a soccer game at Hillsborough Stadium and never came home in 1989.These are rare incidents, given the global scale of the sport, but they are bound by a common thread: When tragedies occur in soccer, they tend not to be the result of fan violence, but of an overzealous and, at times, aggressive style of policing that treats a large crowd as a threat and turns a game into a hazard.“It speaks to a mind-set that is too often too oriented toward public order, rather than public safety,” said Owen West, a senior lecturer in policing at Edge Hill University in Ormskirk, England. “You can see officers in full riot gear, crowd control munitions. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.”He said law enforcement agencies assumed a need to “control” the crowd, and therefore tended to be “overzealous and over-resourced.” “Too often, it is actually the police action that triggers the adverse reaction in the crowds,” he said.The disaster Saturday in Malang carried an echo of the tragedy in Yaoundé, the Cameroonian capital, in January, when eight people were killed in a crush before an Africa Cup of Nations game between Cameroon and the Comoros.Then, the police had greeted the sight of thousands of fans trying to get into the Olembé Stadium by directing them to enter through a gate that was “closed for inexplicable reasons,” as Patrice Motsepe, the president of African soccer’s governing body, said. “If that gate was open, as it was supposed to be, we would not have had this loss of life,” he said.At Port Said, too, fans had found themselves with nowhere to run. That day, when supporters of the Egyptian team Al Masry attacked fans of rival Al Ahly after a game in the country’s Premier League, thousands more in the crowd tried to escape the violence. The doors to the stadium, though, had been locked, and were not opened to relieve the pressure. Seventy-four fans were killed.The use of tear gas, though, was most redolent of the chaotic scenes in Paris outside this year’s Champions League final, contested by Real Madrid and Liverpool.UEFA, European soccer’s governing body, had two of its previous showpiece games marred by a failure to manage an entirely anticipated crowd. First, at the final of the delayed 2020 European Championship, held at Wembley Stadium in London in July 2021, thousands of fans broke through security barriers to gain entry.Then, after this year’s Europa League final between Eintracht Frankfurt and the Scottish team Rangers in Seville, Spain, both clubs took the unusual step of issuing a joint letter of complaint to UEFA about the way their fans were treated.Paris, though, was the most worrisome of all. French authorities funneled tens of thousands of Liverpool fans through narrow passageways, causing bottlenecks at the entrance to the stadium. Many in the crowd waited for hours at gates that either opened only a few minutes before the game was scheduled to start or did not open at all.As they waited, French security officers fired tear gas into tightly packed crowds.An officer spraying tear gas at Liverpool fans before the Champions League final in France in May.Matthias Hangst/Getty ImagesUEFA initially advised those fans already in the stadium, as well as viewers watching at home, that the game would be delayed because of the “late arrival” of so many supporters, despite knowing at the time that many of the fans trapped outside had arrived hours before the scheduled start time.That trope was seized upon by the French authorities, who in the days afterward tried to blame tens of thousands of fans bearing forged tickets for the problems. The number of fake tickets, however, was grossly overstated and a French Senate inquiry in July faulted the authorities for what it called a “fiasco” at the final, determining that poor coordination, bad planning and multiple errors, including the use of tear gas on fans, had caused the chaos.Five months later, their counterparts in Indonesia directed responsibility away from themselves in the same way in their initial statements. They centered blame for the deaths of at least 125 fans on those supporters who had encroached the field of play at Kanjuruhan Stadium after an Indonesian league game between Arema and Persebaya Surabaya, rather than on the officers who had sought to deal with that offense by firing tear gas into an area where there was no easy escape from it.“It is incredibly dangerous to use a dispersal tactic such as tear gas in this case,” said West, the policing expert. “Chiefly in the minds of officers thinking about that tactic should be where people are expected to disperse to. Some of the reporting talks about panic, which suggests an irrationality on the part of the crowd. But running away from something that is doing so much damage to your breathing, eyesight and general health is an entirely rational decision.”According to the stadium safety and security regulations published by FIFA, soccer’s world governing body, “crowd control gas” should not be “carried or used” by stewards or police officers positioned on the side of the field inside a stadium. FIFA, though, admitted Sunday that those principles can only be guidelines at domestic competitions subject to national safety and security regulations.In a statement Sunday, Indonesia’s Legal Aid Foundation condemned “the excessive use of force through the use of tear gas,” and blamed it for the large number of fatalities in Malang, an assertion supported by eyewitnesses. “The tear gas was overdone,” said Suci Rahayu, a photographer who was in the stadium. “Many people fainted. If there wasn’t tear gas, there wouldn’t be such a riot.”Austin Ramzy More

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      Fans Focus on Police After More Than 100 Die at Indonesian Soccer Match

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      Witnesses said officers fired tear gas indiscriminately into the stands, causing a stampede that led to at least 125 deaths.MALANG, Indonesia — It was supposed to be a joyous occasion for fans of Arema F.C., the most beloved soccer team in the city of Malang, Indonesia.Tens of thousands of young people — who call themselves “Aremania” — had packed the Kanjuruhan Stadium on Saturday night, hoping to watch their team beat Persebaya Surabaya, a club it had defeated for 23 years running.But Arema lost, 3-2, and angry fans began rushing the field. What unfolded next became one of the deadliest sports stadium disasters in history: Police officers began shooting tear gas canisters into the crowd and beating fans with batons, witnesses said, and in a rush to flee the stadium fans piled up against narrow exits, crushing each other. At least 125 people were reported dead as of Sunday night.“I’m still thinking: ‘Did all this really happen?’” said Felix Mustikasakti Afoan Tumbaz, a 23-year-old fan whose right leg was injured when a tear-gas canister landed on him. “How could such a tragedy occur and kill so many people?”The disaster has focused attention on the use of tear gas by the local police in such a tightly packed stadium. On Twitter, one of the top trending topics in Indonesia was “National Police Chief,” with many Indonesians calling for his removal. A spokesman for the national police said that in addition to the huge death toll, there were reports that at least 300 people had been injured.Police officers fired tear gas during a soccer match at Kanjuruhan Stadium in Malang, East Java, Indonesia, on Saturday.Yudha Prabowo/Associated PressViolent, often deadly rivalries between major teams are common in Indonesia. Some teams even have fan clubs with so-called commanders, who lead large groups of supporters. Flares are often thrown onto the field, and riot police are a regular presence at many matches. Since the 1990s, dozens of fans have been killed in soccer-related violence.But Indonesia has never before seen a sports stadium disaster on this scale. Saturday’s tragedy appeared to be a perfect storm of everything that could go wrong at a soccer match.Indonesia’s president, Joko Widodo, has asked the police chief for a thorough investigation into the cause of the incident. In a televised speech to the nation, he said he had also ordered the minister of youth and sports and the chairman of Indonesia’s football association to evaluate security at soccer matches.“I regret that this tragedy occurred,” Mr. Joko said. “And I hope this is the last football tragedy in the country.”The police defended their use of tear gas, which they said was necessary to subdue aggrieved fans. East Java’s police chief, Inspector General Nico Afinta, said the gas was deployed “because there was anarchy.” He said the fans “were about to attack the officers and had damaged the cars.”But witnesses dispute Mr. Afinta’s account, saying that police officers fired tear gas indiscriminately into the stands, causing a stampede and many people to suffocate. Videos circulating on Twitter showed fans scaling a fence as they tried to flee the clouds of tear gas. Other videos showed security forces with shields and batons kicking and hitting fans who had rushed onto the field.Officers with a damaged police vehicle after the deadly events at Kanjuruhan Stadium on Saturday.Yudha Prabowo/Associated PressThe stadium was over capacity. Mahfud MD, Indonesia’s coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs, said that the local football committee had printed 42,000 tickets, more than the stadium’s 38,000 seats. Mr. Afinto, the East Java police chief, said there were 40,000 people inside the stadium.The police came armed with tear gas, even though its use at games is prohibited by FIFA, soccer’s global governing body. Owen West, a senior lecturer on policing at the Edge Hill University in Britain, said the use of crowd control munitions and full riot gear “becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy” because officers’ “tactical assumptions are all initiated around a sense of losing control.”“It is incredibly, incredibly dangerous to use a dispersal tactic such as tear gas in this case,” said Mr. West. “I’m guessing it was used without any thought of where thousands of people might go to.”One fan, Joshua Nade, said that after the match ended, two or three angry fans came down from the stands and were seen shouting at the players. Police officers entered to turn the fans back, drawing more people onto the field. Some scuffling between the police and fans prompted officers to fire the first bursts of tear gas around 10:30 p.m. local time.Then at 11 p.m., the security forces suddenly started firing tear gas at a steady clip into the stands, said Mr. Joshua, who like many Javanese does not use a family name. That prompted hundreds of people to rush to the exits. Officers continued firing tear gas for an hour, according to Mr. Joshua.Soccer fans carrying an injured man away from the stadium.Yudha Prabowo/Associated PressOutside the stadium, hundreds of angry fans clashed with the police. Some of the exits were sealed off, ostensibly to keep fans from flooding the stadium. But that trapped thousands of people inside.To get out, Mr. Joshua said, some people had to scale fences more than 15 feet high, clambering over other panicked spectators. Mr. Joshua said the police stood by and did nothing to help the hundreds of people who had fainted from the tear gas.In a statement, Indonesia’s Legal Aid Foundation said “the excessive use of force through the use of tear gas and inappropriate crowd control was the cause of the large number of fatalities.”“If there wasn’t tear gas, there wouldn’t be such a riot,” said Suci Rahayu, a photographer who was in the stadium.Soccer violence has long been a problem for Indonesia, and police officers are usually on guard to contend with unruly fans. The last time tear gas was used in a deadly way by the police during a soccer match was also during an Arema F.C. game in 2018. One person died and 214 people were injured.A relative of a victim sitting outside a hospital in Malang, East Java, on Sunday.Juni Kriswanto/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesSaturday’s death toll put it among the worst sports casualty counts in history, including a riot in Peru in 1964 that left more than 300 dead, and in Hillsborough, England, in which an F.A. Cup semifinal between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest in Sheffield resulted in the deaths of 97 soccer fans.Mr. Tumbaz said around 11:45 p.m., a tear-gas canister landed on his right leg, burning his calf and foot. He showed photographs of his injuries to The New York Times.When the firing stopped, he said he helped medical workers carry to the exits more than 10 people who had fainted. He checked to see if they were still alive, and their heartbeats were faint but still present. Then he went to look for his friends in the parking lot.When he returned, the bodies of the unconscious people had turned dark.“I still remember all their faces,” said Mr. Tumbaz. “I hear them asking for help in my head.”In Malang on Sunday night, hundreds of Arema fans held a vigil for the dead. They wore black at Stadium Gajayana, where Arema won its first title. Many of them sang hymns to remember those who had died.The survivors say they are still traumatized.Arema football club supporters prayed during a vigil outside the Kanjuruhan Stadium Sunday night.Willy Kurniawan/ReutersBambang Siswanto, the father of 19-year-old Gilang Putra Yuliazah, said his son and his nephew had gone to the game with three other boys. His 17-year-old nephew did not make it out alive and his son, he said, is already struggling with survivor’s guilt.“He totally went into shock,” said Mr. Bambang, speaking at a hospital in Malang, where his son was admitted. “He looked OK when I found him, but as soon as he saw his cousin’s body, that’s when it hit him. He went blank. You talk to him and there’s no response.”Gilang’s mother, Etri, who goes by one name, said she had told her son not to go to the match. But her son is a die-hard Arema fan and has loved soccer since he was little.“I will never let him watch a soccer match anymore,” Etri said. “I am terrified.”Mr. Bambang echoed his wife’s sentiments. “Yes, we won’t allow him to go to a soccer match,” he said. “Too cruel. The police are too cruel.”Muktita Suhartono More

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      Boxing champion Jai Opetia ‘told police officers to “f*** off” and urinated in cell’ after nightclub arrest

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      AUSTRALIAN boxing world champion Jai Opetaia was slammed by a magistrate for aggressive behaviour towards police and urinating in his cell after an arrest.Opetaia was charged with remaining in the vicinity of a licensed premises after being excluded, behaving in an offensive manner in a public place and using offensive language in a public place.
      Jai Opetaia was slammed by a magistrate for aggressive behaviour towards policeCredit: @jaiopetaia_
      The IBF champion became aggressive and refused to answer police questions.
      And court documents reveal he began banging on his cell door, urinated in his prison and verbally abused officers following his recent arrest.
      Charges relate to an August 14 night out in Sydney where the unbeaten boxer and a friend attempted to enter Home Nightclub on Cockle Bay Wharf.
      The pair walked towards the exit to the premises, where the security guard denied them entry – telling them to use the correct entrance.
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      They then moved towards the security guard, prompting five men to grab Opetaia and move him away.
      The cruiserweight star was asked to leave after getting into an argument with security – but he remained in the area.
      He was restrained until police arrived and put him in handcuffs.
      According to court documents, Opetaia became aggressive with police and loudly said ‘f**k you’ to the officers who gave him a final warning and told him he was being recorded.
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      He said: “You f***ing idiots, I’ve sat here arrested… for nothing.”
      He also shouted at one officer: “You are a dumb four-eyed piece of s***.”
      Opetaia faced court for the first time on Wednesday where defence lawyer Jason Murakami entered a plea of guilty on his behalf.
      Mr Murakami asked magistrate Daniel Covington to consider “exercising discretion” given that Opetaia entered a guilty plea, had no criminal history and the objective seriousness was low.
      The lawyer said his client was very remorseful and worried about his poor behaviour more than his sporting career being affected.
      Opetaia shot to fame in July when he defeated Latvian Mairis Briedis, 37, to win his title belt.
      He has also represented Australia at the 2012 Olympics at the age of just 16 and then the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
      Jai Opetaia beat Mairis Briedis for the IBF cruiserweight titleCredit: Getty More

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      Boca Juniors match suspended for 21 minutes as fans injure club chief with ROCKS and riot police forced to step in

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      A BOCA JUNIORS match was suspended for 21 MINUTES following horrible violence, reportedly from fans of opposition side Quilmes.Argentine giants Boca led the Copa Argentina match 3-2 with less than 15 minutes remaining.
      Boca fans, left, retreated when Quilmes supporters allegedly started throwing rocksCredit: Twitter
      The referee stopped the match and play was suspended for 21 minutesCredit: Twitter
      Riot police were forced to intervene to diffuse the situationCredit: Twitter
      Quilmes’ club chief was cut in the head and seen bleeding as a result of the violenceCredit: Twitter
      But the referee then brought the game to a halt when Quilmes fans allegedly began hurling rocks at Boca supporters.
      The Boca fans retreated to safety as riot police came in to try and diffuse the situation.
      CBS journalist Nico Cantor reported: “Incidents in Boca v Quilmes game being held in Mendoza.
      “The issue began where the Quilmes sector met the Boca sector.
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      “Rocks were thrown reportedly by the Quilmes fans towards Boca fans.
      “Boca fans rushed to safety, armed police involved.”
      Yet despite the police intervening, they could not stop the Quilmes contingent from causing injury.
      The rock throwing resulted in Quilmes’ own club security chief suffering a nasty cut to his head – which could be seen covered in blood.
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      A photo then emerged of the huge slabs of concrete that were hurled at fans.
      Issuing a statement after the game, Boca said: “Club Atletico Boca Juniors regrets the tragic accident suffered by Xeneizes fans who traveled to Mendoza to enjoy tonight’s match for the Copa Argentina and makes itself available to their family and friends.”
      The game eventually resumed after a 21-minute delay, with Boca holding on to win 3-2.
      One of the ‘rocks’ which were thrown during the brawl More

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      Benjamin Mendy rape ‘victim’ says she DIDN’T have sex with Jack Grealish after claims from another woman

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      A woman who claims she was raped by Benjamin Mendy has said she did not have sex with his team-mate Jack Grealish after another woman claims she did.Grealish, 27, was among partygoers at Mendy’s mansion in Cheshire last year when the 17-year-old complainant says she was attacked by Mendy, 28, and co-accused Louis Saha Matturie, 41.
      Last week it was claimed a woman who was allegedly raped by Matturie also had sex with Jack Grealish on the same night
      Manchester City footballer Benjamin Mendy denies multiple sex offences against a string of young womenCredit: PA
      Mendy’s co-accused, Louis Saha Matturie arrives at Chester Crown CourtCredit: PA
      Mendy and Matturie are on trial at Chester Crown Court where they deny multiple sex offences against a string of young women.
      Last week the court heard the 17-year-old said to police that a 23-year-old woman, who also alleges Matturie raped her, told her on the night she had sex with Grealish.
      On Monday, in further police interviews she said Matturie also mentioned to her the woman had “been together” with the former Aston Villa winger.
      Three or four of Grealish’ friends from Birmingham came to the party after she earlier arrived in a taxi which followed a Range Rover in which Grealish was a passenger, she said.
      The complainant said his friends were “quite pleasant” and “quite normal”, and there was “nothing suggestive or weird” in their conversations.
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      Grealish went on to compliment her “beautiful eyes” as she entered the swimming pool at the mansion and he walked out.
      She said she replied: “Thank you.”
      Later she saw Grealish “fast asleep” in the house.
      She told detectives: “I remember him being quite drunk.”
      The woman said she had not previously met Grealish and only “knew of him just off the TV”.
      She said the footballer and his friends did not do anything that made her feel uncomfortable.
      She confirmed to police that she did not have any sexual contact with Grealish.
      The detective asked: “Have you since that night told anybody if you had any physical contact with him?”
      “No,” she replied.
      The court heard that days before the woman was invited by Saha to watch a Manchester City match from a private box.
      At the time she said she thought Saha was Mendy’s personal assistant or “some kind of entourage, a bodyguard”.
      In a text exchange with a friend, Mendy was referred to as “the worst player on the team…guy goes out too much.
      “He made us lose against Tottenham.”
      Prosecutors claim Mendy is a “predator” who “turned the pursuit of women for sex into a game”.
      Matturie, his friend and “fixer”, allegedly had the job of finding young women for sex.
      Mendy denies seven counts of rape, one count of attempted rape and one count of sexual assault against six young women.
      Matturie, of Eccles, Salford, denies six counts of rape and three counts of sexual assault relating to seven young women.
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      Both men say, if any sex did take place with women or girls, it was consensual.
      The trial was adjourned until Tuesday morning. More

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      Mum begs FA not to let Cristiano Ronaldo ‘get away with it’ after he smashed phone from autistic boy’s hand

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      THE mum of an autistic boy who had his phone smashed by Cristiano Ronaldo has pleaded with the FA not to let him ‘get away with it’. The Man United forward was filmed appearing to slap young Jacob Harding’s hand after his side were defeated by Everton at Goodison Park in April.
      Mum Sarah Kelly is urging the FA to not let Ronaldo ‘get away with it’
      It comes after the Man U forward was caught on camera slapping the phone from the boy’s hand
      Ronaldo was charged with breaching FA rules after he smashed the boy’s to the ground after losing to 1-0 to Everton.
      His mum Sarah, 37, says she’s had “six months of hell” after Ronaldo fans turned on her.
      She told the Mirror: “Let’s hope he finally gets the right punishment. He can’t keep getting away with it. His behaviour is unacceptable.”
      Ronaldo later apologised to the 14-year-old but was interviewed by police under caution in relation to an alleged assault and criminal damage last month.
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      She added: “I’m being hounded by people saying I’m dragging it up again but I didn’t know anything about it.
      “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.”
      Merseyside Police paid to have the phone repaired, but Sarah believes it should have been up to the star player.
      Sarah, of Upton, Merseyside, added: “He should have paid for that. He’s the one who caused all this.
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      “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?”
      Sarah said Ronaldo hadn’t apologised to her or her son.
      She said: “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.”
      A Merseyside Police spokesperson said Jacob’s phone needed to be fixed while the investigation took place.
      A spokesman added: “The phone was kept until the conclusion of the investigation and will be returned shortly.”
      Ronaldo was charged with a breach of FA Rule E3 for an incident that took place after Manchester United FC’s Premier League match against Everton on Saturday 9 April 2022.
      They said: “It is alleged that the forward’s conduct after the final whistle was improper and/or violent.”
      The FA Rule E3 states “a participant shall at all times act in the best interests of the game”.
      It adds they shall not act “in any manner which is improper or brings the game into disrepute”.
      They should also not use “any one, or a combination of, violent conduct, serious foul play, threatening, abusive, indecent or insulting words or behaviour”.
      ‘DIDN’T SET AN EXAMPLE’
      Jacob’s mum, Sarah Kelly, spoke out about the incident at the time, telling how Ronaldo had phoned her to apologise.
      She said she wanted to see justice “because there hasn’t been any”.
      And her son Jacob told The Mirror: “I looked up to him but he didn’t set an example that day.”
      In a post online after the incident, Ronaldo said: “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 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.”
      Read More on The Sun
      Responding to the FA charge, a spokesperson for Manchester United said: “We note the FA announcement in relation to Cristiano Ronaldo.
      “We will be supporting the player in his response to the charge.”
      Everton fan Jacob had been recording the striker’s exit from the pitch
      His phone smashed on the groundCredit: Sarah Kelly
      Jacob’s hand was also allegedly bruisedCredit: Sarah Kelly
      Ronaldo has been charged by the FA with breaching its rulesCredit: Getty More

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      Cristiano Ronaldo charged with breaching FA rules after Man Utd star smashed autistic boy’s phone on the ground

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      CRISTIANO Ronaldo has been charged with breaching FA rules after he smashed an autistic boy’s phone to the ground. The Man United forward appeared to slap young Jacob Harding’s hand after his side were defeated by Everton at Goodison Park in April.
      Cristiano Ronaldo has been charged by the FA for breaching its rulesCredit: Getty
      It comes after the Man U forward was caught on camera slapping the phone from the boy’s handCredit: Not known, clear with picture desk
      Ronaldo later apologised to the 14-year-old but was interviewed by police under caution in relation to an alleged assault and criminal damage last month.
      Merseyside Police confirmed the matter had been dealt with by “matter of conditional caution”.
      But in an update today, the FA has decided to probe the incident.
      A spokesperson confirmed today: “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 on Saturday 9 April 2022.
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      “It is alleged that the forward’s conduct after the final whistle was improper and/or violent.”
      Ronaldo knocked the phone from Jacob’s hand after losing to 1-0 to Everton.
      The FA Rule E3 states “a participant shall at all times act in the best interests of the game”.
      It adds they shall not act “in any manner which is improper or brings the game into disrepute”.
      They should also not use “any one, or a combination of, violent conduct, serious foul play, threatening, abusive, indecent or insulting words or behaviour”.
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      Jacob’s mum, Sarah Kelly, spoke out about the incident at the time, telling how Ronaldo had phoned her to apologise.
      She said she wanted to see justice “because there hasn’t been any”.
      And her son Jacob told The Mirror: “I looked up to him but he didn’t set an example that day.”
      In a post online after the incident, Ronaldo said: “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 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.”
      Read More on The Sun
      Responding to the FA charge today, a spokesperson for Manchester United said: “We note the FA announcement in relation to Cristiano Ronaldo.
      “We will be supporting the player in his response to the charge.”
      Everton fan Jacob had been recording the striker’s exit when the incident happened
      Mum Sarah Kelly said she was left in tears after Cristiano Ronaldo called her days later More