Manchester City star Raheem Sterling revealed a tattoo of an M16 assault rifle on his leg while training with England this week and found it featured in the newspapers.
Following a recent surge in knife and gun crime across most of the UK, The Sun chose to put it on the front page in a move that has angered many of his supporters.
The player has since claimed that he got the “still unfinished” inking of the United States military weapon in tribute to his late father, adding “I shoot with my right foot” for further justification.
With the FA currently resisting calls to have him dropped from the England squad for the World Cup this summer, these are the best of the Raheem Sterling tattoo jokes:
I bet Sterling paid well over the odds for that tattoo the flash little wanker. Either that or he got it done on the cheap the tight bastard.
— Gilles (@GillesOffTheWeb) May 28, 2018
Raheem Sterling's gunn tattoo is unacceptable pic.twitter.com/wSl7hQgmd9
— Major Charles Innocent (@JoeStephenson96) May 28, 2018
So what if Raheem Sterling has a tattoo of a gun? Wayne Rooney has a Stereophonics tattoo. I know which one I find more offensive.
— Mooms-19 (@Danny_McMoomins) May 29, 2018
https://twitter.com/_lwallace/status/1001398445175984128
https://twitter.com/SywellFC/status/1001404452081950720
https://twitter.com/meljones1967/status/1001428065132666885
Raheem Sterling in 2018. pic.twitter.com/SPpT0DIfZx
— Wedgeman Simon (@miniminter) May 29, 2018
https://twitter.com/JoseEsqueSZN/status/1001440549335859201
.@TheSun omg look at what Raheem Sterling has done to his son pic.twitter.com/BNGmtKblYj
— Ed Gamble (@EdGambleComedy) May 29, 2018
I’ve seen more of Raheem Sterling’s leg today than my own family
— Tony Shepherd (@tonysheps) May 29, 2018
Sterling shooting can be wayward so machine gun is an appropriate representation. A sniper rifle would have been taking the piss
— Paul M (@paul_m_14) May 29, 2018
Was minding my own business when my 18 month year old turned to me and said "Father, why does Sterling have an assault rifle tattooed on his leg? Does he have no empathy for the victims of gun crime in the America?". Couldn't bring myself to finish my avocado after that.
— Steven (@StevenMcinerney) May 29, 2018
https://twitter.com/buzza9676/status/1001550982462038018
https://twitter.com/MartinMatchroom/status/1001507234747166721
If people are offended by Raheem Sterling's tattoo, wait till they find out what this fella's name is: pic.twitter.com/v2FFJcaqGT
— Sachin Nakrani (@SachinNakrani) May 29, 2018
https://twitter.com/FakeShowbizNews/status/1001469596577292288
https://twitter.com/PenmanDeclan/status/1001544839295627265