Raheem Sterling gun tattoo: media reactions to the body art controversy

England star says tattoo has a deeper
meaning as anti-gun campaigners call for him to be dropped from the
World Cup squad

One-Minute Read

Yesterday the 23-year-old posted an Instagram image at an England training camp
which revealed the M16 assault rifle body art on his right leg.

On its front page today, The Sun led with the headline “Raheem shoots
himself in foot” and quoted an anti-gun campaigner calling for the
forward to be dropped from the England World Cup squad. 

The Sun says Sterling has “triggered the fury” of anti-gun
campaigners. Lucy Cope of Mothers Against Guns said the tattoo was
“sickening” and “unacceptable”.

Cope, whose son Damian was shot dead in 2002, told the
Sun: “This tattoo is disgusting. Raheem should hang his head in
shame. It’s totally unacceptable. We demand he has the tattoo
lasered off or covered up with a different tattoo. If he refuses he
should be dropped from the England team.”

In response to the Sun’s front page story, Man City star
Sterling said that the tattoo had a “deeper meaning”
and was “still unfinished”.

He said on social media: “When I was 2 my father died from
being gunned down to death I made a promise to myself I would never
touch a gun in my life time, I shoot with my right foot so it has a
deeper meaning.”

Media reaction to Sterling’s gun
tattoo

Sterling’s tattoo and the Sun’s front page
story have caused mixed reactions among football writers and
pundits. 

TV presenter Piers Morgan called for Sterling to remove the body
art and tweeted: “Get that gun off his leg.” But many
writers praised Sterling and said the England star was a role
model.

The Daily Mirror’s John Cross believes that some
papers go “too far” when writing about Sterling. Cross said: “I do
feel that the coverage he gets in some papers is unfair and he
almost seems to have become a focal point for some parts of the
media.   

“I don’t think the gun story should be causing such
outrage. It’s utterly unfair. There is more to come with that
tattoo. There is more to come with this story. But demonising our
England stars even before the World Cup starts is hardly a good way
to begin a campaign.”

Writing on Twitter, The Times’s Oliver Kay said the media should “give him a
break”. “I like Raheem Sterling,” said Kay. “Talented, determined
footballer, role model for a lot of kids, a great success story. A
gun tattoo doesn’t look like his greatest idea ever (and yes I read
his Instagram post, which was very sad), but who actually cares?
It’s a tattoo. Give him a break.” 

The Manchester Evening News says that “the real
Raheem Sterling is very different from the public portrayal”. MEN’s
Stuart Brennan writes: “He is portrayed as a vacuous, shallow,
egotist with too much money, little sense and no morals. Those of
us who have taken the time to meet him know that to be the opposite
of the truth.” 

The Daily Mail’s Sami Mokbel called Sterling an “engaging and
thoughtful guy” but he is “misunderstood in certain ways”. Mokbel
tweeted: “Opinions will vary, of course, but the tattoo isn’t an
endorsement of gun culture. His Insta post verifies that. Let the
kid breathe a bit.”