Sky Sports apologises after misquoting Raheem Sterling over gun tattoo furore

The England player posted an explanation on Instagram of his new gun tattoo on his right leg after it was pictured on the front page of Tuesday’s The Sun

Sky Sports was forced to apologise on Wednesday after the company was heavily criticised for an error in a quote by Raheem Sterling.

The England player posted an explanation on Instagram of his new gun tattoo on his right leg after it was pictured on the front page of Tuesday’s The Sun under the headlines “Ace’s sick new tattoo”, “Raheem shoots himself in foot” and “Gun tat fury”.

Sterling posted a message explaining that it related to his father’s death when he was two years old, writing: “I made a promise to myself I would never touch a gun in my lifetime”.

However Sky Sports misquoted the line in a graphic on their Sky Sports News show, adding the word “again”, writing: “I made a promise to myself I would never touch a gun again in my lifetime.”

The apology read: “Last night we made a mistake in our reporting of Raheem Sterling’s statement on his tattoo. We apologise for this error and any distress it has caused Raheem and his family.”

The FA has defended Sterling over the tattoo, saying it is an “honest and heartfelt” tribute to his father.