Smalling ROBBED by armed men in front of wife, kids in Italy; Rashford offers support

Reports from Italy have revealed that the former Manchester United defender Chris Smalling was held at gunpoint and robbed at his home in Rome. The English centre-back was not a part of AS Roma's matchday squad that played out a 1-1 draw against Ajax on Thursday as the defender was resting and recovering from a knee injury.

The English defender joined the Italian outfit in 2019 while being on loan from Manchester United and was living in a hotel during his loan spell. Later on, he moved into the historic Appia Antica where he brought a 700-year-old villa to live with his wife and kid after joining AS Roma on a permanent basis. 

What happened to Chris Smalling family after being held at gunpoint?

The former Manchester United defender was home as he had been sidelined from the Europa League quarter-final against Ajax due to a knee injury. Edin Dzeko managed to find the equaliser and cancel out Brain Brobbery's first-half strike to help Roma eke out a 1-1 draw and win the quarter-final by recording a 3-2 win on aggregate. 

The Englishman was with his family sleeping at their house in Appia Antica in central Rome on Friday when the Chris Smalling robbery took place. The whole family was attacked by three armed men while the England defender was present at the scene of the crime with his wife and their two-year-old child.

Chris Smalling and his family were woken by three armed mask-wearing burglars who forced the player to open his safe. It is being reported that the thieves took a Rolex watch along with some jewellery owned by Chris Smalling's wife with few other precious items. Chris Smalling’s wife reportedly called the police early morning with the police officers now set to conduct their investigation on the burglary.

Marcus Rashford Twitter

After learning about Chris Smalling robbery, his fellow Manchester United teammate Marcus Rashford has taken to Twitter and given his support to the English defender and his family who had to go through a night of terror.  

This is not the first instance where an AS Roma member was attacked as manager Paulo Fonseca’s home was also targeted for a burglary last year. The incident took place on the eve of AS Roma's clash against Fiorentina in November as the robbers stole goods worth €100,000 from his house. Earlier in January, fellow Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie was also attacked as armed men pulled off a burglary at the American player's house.