Criticism for Ronaldo following poorly timed tweet

The football world is currently praying for good news following the heartbreaking announcement that a plane carrying Cardiff City’s new signing Emiliano Sala went missing over the English Channel. However, Cristiano Ronaldo has come under intense criticism following an ill-timed tweet.

The search is on-going for the 28-year-old Sala, who was flying to the UK on board a light aircraft to complete his signing from FC Nantes. A decision will be made on Thursday (24th) whether it is set to continue as Guernsey police are still yet to find any remnants of the fallen aircraft. Messages of prayers and hope have come from every corner of the footballing community, including an emotional vigil held in Nantes. The plane went down on Monday evening having fallen off radar, and the lives of all on board are still yet to be accounted for.

Ignorance or poor timing from Ronaldo?

Whilst messages continue to pour in calling for the Argentinian’s safe return, footballing legend Cristiano Ronaldo has come under heavy scrutiny for a poorly timed Tweet in the midst of this disaster.

England icon and BBC presenter Gary Lineker has led the criticism of the Juventus forward, as the obvious insensitivity and poor timings of the above post came to realisation. Lineker replied to Ronaldo claiming that it is ‘not the day for this’. The post has, again, raised questions about footballers’ awareness of the real world and the consequences of what their seemingly innocent posts can have. Some have claimed that Ronaldo’s post may have been scheduled, or part of an advertisement, and that he did not mean anything insensitive from the post. But the timings are certainly incredibly inconsiderate, and there should have been higher levels of thought before posting, given the events.

Further backlash for Ronaldo

The social media backlash has come during a week when Ronaldo has also been found guilty of tax fraud. He has been fined almost €19million and handed a 23-month suspended prison sentence. However, the fine didn’t appear to bother the Portuguese as he left court smiling and signing autographs before departing in a black van.

Given the responses to the tweet, and what some would view as a mere slap on the wrist for tax avoidance, criticism of Ronaldo is likely to increase over the coming weeks.

Featured Image Credit: “CR 9” (CC BY-SA 2.0) by Jan S0L0