Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo apologized Saturday for knocking a mobile phone out of the hands of a supporter as he left the pitch following Manchester United's 1-0 defeat to Everton in the English Premier League.

Footage on social media emerged which appeared to show the Portugese star clashing with an Everton supporter as he headed for the tunnel at the Goodison Park stadium.

Ronaldo assaulted a kid because he lost a game. Crazy pic.twitter.com/2Cr6mYNqT4

— MC (@CrewsMat10) April 9, 2022

Following the incident, 37-year-old Ronaldo wrote on Instagram, "It's never easy to deal with emotions in difficult moments such as the one we are facing." 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Cristiano Ronaldo (@cristiano)

"Nevertheless, we always have to be respectful, patient and set the example for all the youngsters who love the beautiful game," he added.

"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," Ronaldo concluded.

United's shy performance at relegation-threatened Everton left them in seventh place in the table, six points adrift of the Champions League places.

Merseyside Police liaising with United and Everton

On Saturday afternoon, Merseyside Police issued a statement to the Liverpool ECHO confirming that they are "liaising with Manchester United Football Club and Everton FC following reports of an alleged assault at the Everton vs. Manchester United football match today (Saturday 9 April 2022) 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," the Merseyside Police mentioned.

The police indicated that "Inquiries are underway 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."

For its part, Manchester United told Mirror Football, "We are aware of an alleged incident after today’s game at Everton and the club will cooperate with any police inquiries."