Jack Grealish hailed as ‘class act’ for giving his boots to a young England fan in a touching gesture in the aftermath of heartbreaking penalty shootout defeat in Euro 2020 final
Jack Grealish has been praised after he set aside his Euro 2020 final heartache to delight a young fan at Wembley on Sunday night.
The England stars were understandably distraught after suffering the heartbreak of a penalty shootout defeat by Italy.
But Aston Villa midfielder Grealish was still willing to take the time for a photo with young England fan Oliver after the game.
England star Jack Grealish put his disappointment to one side to delight a young fan
The England star posed for a photo with young England fan Oliver after the game
His Dan revealed that Grealish then gave him his match-worn boots.
In a post on Instagram Dan said: ‘With all the negative, horrible stories going about let’s see if the media post about this amazing, beautiful moment that @jackgrealish did for my son Oliver
‘Super Jack is an absolute CLASS act on and off the field. Took time with photos with Oliver then asked if he wanted his boots.’
Jack Grealish has hit back at suggestions he might not have wanted to take a penalty
Grealish had been criticised by ITV pundit Roy Keane for not taking a penalty in England’s Euro 2020 final defeat by Italy.
Keane questioned why senior players, including Grealish and Raheem Sterling, weren’t taking a penalty in the shootout for England after Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and 19-year-old Bukayo Saka missed from the spot.
And Grealish responded on Twitter on Monday morning, saying: ‘I said I wanted to take one!!!! The gaffer has made so many right decisions through this tournament and he did tonight!
Southgate appeared to ask Grealish if he would take a penalty, and Grealish nodded in reply
Grealish took to Twitter after Roy Keane queried where senior players were in the shootout
‘But I won’t have people say that I didn’t want to take a peno when I said I will…’
Television footage before the shootout began also showed Grealish nodding in reply to Gareth Southgate when it appeared that the England boss was asking players in a huddle who would be willing to take a penalty.
Kalvin Phillips was also seen putting his hand up, but did not end up taking a penalty in the shootout.