James Maddison paid a touching tribute to Sophie on Saturday. (Source: Maddison Twitter)Leicester City’s James Maddison paid a touching tribute to five-year-old girl Sophie, who lost the battle to cancer a year after being diagnosed. Maddison honoured his ‘best friend’ Sophie after scoring a goal in the English Premier League clash against Burnley on Sunday.
Maddison gave Leicester, who were down to ten men, the lead in the 33rd minute, as he curled a brilliant free-kick into the net. He became the first Leicester player to score two goals from direct free-kicks in a league season.
He then removed his jersey to reveal another shirt that said, “RIP Sophie. I love you” and then pointed towards the sky. Sharing the moment from his official Twitter account, Maddison wrote, “A free kick Sophie would have been proud of. That was for you soph, I know you were watching.”
A free kick @SuperStrongSoph would have been proud of. That was for you soph, I know you were watching ?? pic.twitter.com/sNwWjejfLi
— James Maddison (@Madders10) 16 March 2019
Maddison, however, received a yellow card for his tribute as it went against the league’s rules for how players can celebrate goals. The referee, Michael Oliver, received a lot of criticism on social media for his decision, but Maddison dismissed it by saying that the official was just doing his job.
Ridiculous that Michael Oliver booked James Maddison for his celebration..These referee have heart of stone #MOTD
— ily (@ily_patel) 16 March 2019
the FA should cancel the yellow card given to James Maddison for celebrating the life of Sophie Taylor
— Jason Linkins (@dceiver) 16 March 2019
Also, regarding tweets about Michael Oliver, he’s just doing his job and didn’t have a choice. He didn’t enjoy showing me a yellow and shared his condolences about the passing of Sophie which I thought was very respectful????
— James Maddison (@Madders10) 16 March 2019
Sophie, who was a huge football fan, first met Maddison when he was playing for Norwich City in 2018. The two remained friends after he moved to Leicester. Sophie, who accompanied Maddison at many home matches, died early in January a year after being diagnosed with bone cancer.
Wes Morgan’s 90th-minute header earned 10-man Leicester City a 2-1 victory over Burnley at Turf Moor.
