HOLD YOUR FIRE
FA back Sterling over divisive gun-tattoo tribute to late father
RAHEEM STERLING has the full backing of England boss Gareth Southgate and the English FA in the face of fierce criticism over a tattoo of a gun on his right leg.
There were calls to remove the England forward from Southgate’s World Cup squad, even though Sterling explained on social media that the body art was ‘unfinished’ and a tribute to his father, who was murdered in a shooting in Jamaica.
A photograph of the tattoo branded ‘an absolute disgrace’ by one anti-gun lobbyist was shared by Manchester City star Sterling with his 3.6million Instagram followers.
And the 23-year-old explained in a later post: ‘When I was 2 my father was gunned down to death. I made a promise to myself I would never touch a gun in my lifetime. I shoot with my right foot so it has a deeper meaning (and is) still unfinished.’
The FA said: ‘We all support Raheem Sterling and acknowledge the honest and heartfelt account he gave. He and the rest of the squad are focused solely on preparing for the World Cup.’
As someone at the FA quietly pointed out yesterday, you will not actually be able to see Sterling’s new tattoo when he is playing for England.
The silhouette of an M16 rifle will be concealed beneath those long England socks in a match, leaving us all to focus at this summer’s World Cup on what this player can do with the rest of his leg.
Sterling is such a pivotal player for England’s manager, enlisted to provide the team with the firepower they need in Russia. He can play wide or as a No 10, scoring goals as well as creating them.
But yesterday the FA had to move to defend the 23-year-old, accepting the explanation he posted on social media in response to the furore that followed pictures of his new ink. They referenced the death of his father even if the details of it remain sketchy.
There appears to have been little mention of it in the Jamaican press, probably because at the time the victim was not the father of a famous footballer. One of the more detailed reports says it happened in Kingston, Jamaica, in June 2004, some four years after a young Raheem left the Caribbean for a new life with his mother in London.
And it says Sterling’s father was gunned down outside his family house. There was a photograph of the place where the shooting allegedly took place but no mention of any names in the article.
Adding to the confusion is a detail in Sterling’s own Instagram post, where he stated his father was killed when he was two. Other reports suggest he was nine, a fact that is repeated in interviews Sterling has given. But whatever the precise details, nobody disputes the fact that at some point in his childhood Sterling lost his father in the most awful circumstances.
It is pretty hard to complain, when this particular piece of body art is also unfinished, when the gun could eventually be accompanied by a message condemning the kind of violence that led to the brutal death of his father, or another image that in some way honours him. Sterling also made the point that it is positioned on the lower part of his right leg because that is his favoured shooting foot.
And if some would still regard that as a clumsy attempt to make a political point at a time when gun-related violence is an all too familiar story, again tell that to the kid whose dad was shot dead.
This, of course, is not the first time Sterling has been on the receiving end of such criticism. He was ‘the hated one’ at Euro 2016, criticised even for being too flashy when it eventually transpired that the photographs of a smart new house were in fact of a new home he had purchased for his mother. It is worth noting that he also has tattoos in her honour.
The abuse he received on that occasion was as irrational and unfair as the treatment he suffered at the hands of England fans in France two years ago. Quite why he was singled out when he was far from alone in underperforming is anybody’s guess.
Sterling has never been an angel. He has made his mistakes.
But nobody should ever underestimate the discipline, commitment and professionalism it takes to become a top professional footballer, certainly when playing for someone as demanding as Pep Guardiola.
Given the choice, the England boss probably would have dissuaded Sterling from having a picture of a gun on his leg.
But sometimes a bit of perspective, and some context, needs to be applied before rushing to judgment and that is the situation that applies here.