Cristiano Ronaldo receives punishment for Everton fan 'phone throwing' scandal

Several months after being accused of assault by a young Everton fan, Manchester United striker Cristiano Ronaldo has been given a police caution by Merseyside Police.

The decision was made on Wednesday, in connection with the incident that took place back in April. At that time, a video went viral wherein the Portuguese star was seen apparently knocking a phone off the hand of an Everton fan as the latter was filming players as they were heading back into the dressing rooms at Goodison Park.

The incident took place on April 9 after Manchester United lost their away match 1-0 against Everton. In what has become a familiar scene throughout last season, Ronaldo was not in the best of moods after yet another disappointing result for the Red Devils. As he was heading back to the lockers, he stopped for a moment to look at his leg which appeared to have been bleeding from a cut. As he walked past the Everton fans, some of whom were heckling the visiting players, he appeared to slam a phone to the ground.

In a statement shared by Marca, Merseyside Police has confirmed that this is now a closed case and that the football superstar cooperated throughout the entire process. "We can confirm that a 37-year-old man voluntarily attended and was interviewed under caution in relation to an allegation of assault and criminal damage."

"The matter has been dealt with by way of conditional caution," concluded the statement.

The said caution is a form of warning under British law which is given out to those accused of minor offences if they admit to the charges made against them. It is understood that Ronaldo will likely be required to replace the damaged phone due to the "conditional" caution he received.

Previously, the fan's mother rejected Ronaldo's apology and his invitation for her son to attend a match at Old Trafford. The 5-time Ballon d'Or winner sent the invitation out via his Instagram account shortly after the incident came to light.