Joao Cancelo; How Manchester City Star Saved an Autistic Child During Premier League Title Celebrations

Joao Cancelo; How Manchester City Star Saved an Autistic Child During Premier League Title Celebrations

Martin Moses
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:04 PM
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  • A family in England has come out to thank Joao Cancelo for saving their 10-year-old autistic child who could have been trampled on during Manchester City’s title celebrations
  • Ollie Gordon was at the Etihad to watch City win their fourth title under Pep Guardiola but got lost from his father as fans invaded the pitch after the game
  • Cancelo immediately noticed Ollie’s anguish and rushed to him and calmed him down with a hug and a kiss on the forehead until he could locate his father

New details have emerged of how Manchester City defender Joao Cancelo saved a 10-year-old from being stepped on during Manchester City’s title celebrations.

Manchester City won the English Premier League in a dramatic fashion on the last day. Pep Guardiola’s men needed a win to guarantee a fourth title in five years but Aston Villa had threatened to put their celebrations on hold by racing to a 2-0 lead.

Joao Cancelo, Manchester City, Rodri, Ilkay Gundogan, Premier League
Joao Cancelo and Rodri pose with the Premier League trophy. Photo by Tom Flathers.
Source: Getty Images

Ilkay Gundogan came off the bench to spark one of the best turnarounds in football’s history. After the final whistle, fans thronged Etihad’s turf with both ugly scenes of violence and ecstatic scenes of celebrations witnessed. Aston Villa’s goalkeeper Robin Olsen was accosted by some fans.

The Sun now reports that Joao Cancelo stepped in to save an autistic 10-year-old from being trampled on by the crowd. Ollie Gordon was attending the game with his father Lee but they got separated as fans rushed into the pitch.

Cancelo is understood to have noticed the danger immediately and gave Ollie a ‘bear hug,’ as explained by his mother Lauren who was watching from home.

He took off running, he’s got autism and not aware of dangers or anything so got excited and started running.
He goes to the stadium with his dad quite a lot, especially recently. I was watching on the telly and saw Lee running across the pitch but not Ollie.
I was panicking and trying to get hold of his dad. He saw the Aston Villa keeper getting hit a foot away, you can see him on the videos.
It scared him a bit and he saw Cancelo and headed towards him.

The Portuguese international then shoved people back and led Ollie back to his father. Ollie wrote to him to thank him for his kind gesture.

Lauren insisted that they were grateful to the player who has since risen to become one of the best fullbacks in the game for saving her son’s life.

Manchester City interested in Bukayo Saka

Sports Brief earlier reported that Manchester City have upped their efforts to acquire talented Arsenal star Bukayo Saka in a stunning new twist.

Saka, was instrumental for Arsenal last season as he helped the Gunners secure a Europa League finish, narrowly missing out on a Champions League spot to arch-rivals Tottenham.

The 20-year old has already proven himself to be a world class forward, and his performances has attracted interest from the Premier League Champions, who are now monitoring developments regarding his future.world-class.

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Martin Moses
Martin Moses is a sports journalist with over five years of experience in media. He graduated from Multimedia University of Kenya (Bachelor of Journalism, 2017-2021)
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