Gary Lineker calls for Raheem Sterling to be left alone by British press after gun tattoo story

Gary Lineker has called for Raheem Sterling to be left alone by sections of the media after he was criticised for having a tattoo of a gun on his leg.

The Sun ran a story about the tattoo on the front pages of Tuesday's edition of the newspaper, describing it as 'sick'. Sterling later explained on Instagram that the tattoo had 'deeper meaning' and was actually a reference to his late father, who had been shot dead when he was just two.  'I made a promise to myself I would never touch a gun in my life,' the 23-year-old's post reads. This, of course, is not the first time Sterling has been the subject of a negative story in the British press. In fact, a thread of tweets compiled by Adam Keyworth provides numerous examples of this and has been widely shared over the past few hours. Lineker is one of those to share Keyworth's thread on Twitter. 'This persecution is disgusting,' he writes, having praised Sterling's footballing ability and work ethic. https://twitter.com/GaryLineker/status/1001244624323686400 The Match of the Day host also shared a tweet from JOE's Nooruddean Choudry, adding that the media needed to leave Sterling alone. https://twitter.com/GaryLineker/status/1001226549813657600 Lineker has experienced his own difficulties with some sections of the British media in recent years, as he discussed when appearing on Unfiltered with James O'Brien earlier this year.