The letter, as Manchester City published it and LBC printed it, began: “My name is Finlay and I’m eleven years old.” It went on: “I have cerebral palsy and I saw your sister has cerebral palsy too.” And: “It is my dream to meet you and give you a high five because I can’t handshake.” It was written to Jack Grealish, and AFP reported that “Finlay met his favourite player after writing a letter to Grealish, whose sister … also has cerebral palsy.”
Grealish “also made a surprise visit to meet Finlay at a football session run by City’s charity programme,” AFP reported, and, in PA Media’s words, he “surprised Finlay by meeting him in person and told him he could choose his next goal celebration.” “Finlay said he would like to see Grealish do the ‘worm’, but chose something else after the Manchester City playmaker joked he might injure himself,” PA Media went on. What Finlay chose was “waving his arms up and down.” “Jack then promised Finlay that he’d do whatever celebration he wanted when he next scored,” LBC wrote.
There was a catch. “First of all I’ve got to try and score, then I’ll do it for you, but I’ve only scored once this season,” Grealish said in a video released by the Premier League, as AFP reported. His next goal, LBC wrote, “happened to be a World Cup goal against Iran.”
It was the “FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group B match between England and IR Iran at Khalifa International Stadium on November 21, 2022 in Doha, Qatar,” in the words of a photo caption in The Irish Post. “Grealish came on as a late substitute in the win over Iran,” PA Media reported, and “He netted the sixth goal after being set up by Callum Wilson”; AFP called it “a 6-2 win.” Grealish “marked the moment with a broad smile and stretched his arms out to the side, rolling them in waves.”
“Jack Grealish kept his promise to a young fan who has cerebral palsy with his celebration after scoring his first World Cup goal for England against Iran,” AFP reported. As PA Media reported: “‘For you Finlay,’ wrote Grealish on Twitter afterwards.”
Fact check
The facts and where they come from
- He promised a boy a goal celebration, but he had scored just once all season. LBC: “Jack then promised Finlay that he’d do whatever celebration he wanted when he next scored.” Grealish, in a video released by the Premier League (AFP): “First of all I’ve got to try and score, then I’ll do it for you, but I’ve only scored once this season.” 21
- His name is Jack Grealish. AFP: “The Manchester City midfielder”; “his first World Cup goal for England.” 1
- That boy was Finlay, 11, who has cerebral palsy, like Grealish’s sister. AFP: “11-year-old Finlay”; “Finlay met his favourite player after writing a letter to Grealish, whose sister … also has cerebral palsy.” His letter (LBC): “My name is Finlay and I’m eleven years old.” 12
- He wrote Grealish a letter. His letter, as Manchester City published it (LBC): “I have cerebral palsy and I saw your sister has cerebral palsy too.” 2
- “It is my dream to meet you and give you a high five because I can’t handshake,” he wrote. His letter (LBC): “It is my dream to meet you and give you a high five because I can’t handshake.” 2
- Grealish surprised him at a City football session. AFP: he “also made a surprise visit to meet Finlay at a football session run by City’s charity programme.” 1
- He told Finlay he could choose his next goal celebration. PA Media: “Grealish surprised Finlay by meeting him in person and told him he could choose his next goal celebration.” 3
- Grealish joked the worm might hurt him, so Finlay chose a dance, waving his arms. PA Media: “Finlay said he would like to see Grealish do the ‘worm’, but chose something else after the Manchester City playmaker joked he might injure himself”; “The celebration that Finlay chose – waving his arms up and down.” 3
- “I’ll do it for you, but I’ve only scored once this season,” Grealish said. AFP: “‘First of all I’ve got to try and score, then I’ll do it for you, but I’ve only scored once this season,’ Grealish said in a video released by the Premier League.” 1
- At the World Cup, England played Iran. The Irish Post (photo caption): “FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group B match between England and IR Iran at Khalifa International Stadium on November 21, 2022 in Doha, Qatar.” 4
- Grealish came off the bench and tapped in England’s sixth goal. PA Media: “Grealish came on as a late substitute in the win over Iran”; “He netted the sixth goal after being set up by Callum Wilson.” AFP: “Grealish tapped home the final goal from close range in a 6-2 win.” 31
- Then he stretched out his arms and rolled them in waves. AFP: he “marked the moment with a broad smile and stretched his arms out to the side, rolling them in waves.” 1
- His first World Cup goal was for Finlay. AFP: “Jack Grealish kept his promise to a young fan who has cerebral palsy with his celebration after scoring his first World Cup goal for England against Iran on Monday.” LBC: his next goal “happened to be a World Cup goal against Iran.” 12
- “For you Finlay,” Grealish wrote after the game. PA Media: “‘For you Finlay,’ wrote Grealish on Twitter afterwards.” 3
Sources
- Grealish keeps promise to young fan with World Cup celebration (AFP, November 21, 2022) eNCA, from AFP
- Heart of gold: Jack Grealish keeps promise to Finlay, 11, performing special ‘worm’ celebration after World Cup goal (November 2022) LBC
- World Cup: Jack Grealish keeps promise to Manchester City fan Finlay with England goal celebration in Qatar (PA Media, November 21, 2022) TNT Sports (Eurosport), from PA Media
- Jack Grealish’s promise to a young Manchester City fan, with a photo caption of England v Iran (November 2022) The Irish Post
Notes
The letter: the Short shows its words on our own card over a stock photo of a hand writing; this page quotes the three lines word for word as Manchester City published them, via LBC. Other lines of the letter are left out.
The celebration: PA Media says Finlay first asked for the worm “but chose something else after the Manchester City playmaker joked he might injure himself,” and the Short follows PA; The Irish Post says the two agreed on an easier dance “after a long drawn out process.” LBC’s headline calls it a “worm” celebration, but PA Media and AFP describe arms waving up and down or rolling in waves, so this page doesn’t say he did the worm.
The goal: PA Media calls it “the sixth goal,” and AFP calls it “the final goal” in “a 6-2 win”; the Short says only “England’s sixth goal.”
Left out: a popular retelling says months went by and Finlay thought his hero had forgotten; no source says so, so it isn’t used. Grealish’s tweet is quoted as text only; no social-media post is shown.
Jack Grealish is alive. Finlay was a child, 11 at the time: only his first name, his age and the lines of his letter that the outlets published are used; he is not shown, no stand-in child is, and nothing about his surname, family, school or where he lives is given. Grealish’s sister is not named; only that she has cerebral palsy, as AFP reported and as Finlay’s letter says, is used. Only Grealish’s published words and the reporting of 2022 are used; nothing about his life beyond this story is told.
Pictures: no free photo shows the football session, the World Cup goal or the celebration; the only free photos of the match we found are news-agency work, so none is used, and Finlay appears in no photo. Jack Grealish is at Manchester City’s open practice in Cary, North Carolina, on July 22, 2024, not the session where he met Finlay (two photos by Hameltion); playing for Manchester City at RB Leipzig in the Champions League on December 7, 2021, not the World Cup (two photos by Steffen Prößdorf); and against Yokohama F. Marinos in Tokyo on July 23, 2023 (pantkiewicz). Khalifa International Stadium in Doha is seen at the 2009 Emir of Qatar Cup final, before its rebuild, not at the World Cup (daly3d). The hand writing in a notebook is a stock photo, not Finlay or his letter (Tookapic). The other players, staff and fans in these photos are not named.
Photo credits
The archive photos in this story
The photographs and illustrations in this story are in the public domain or shared under open licenses; each one is credited below with its license. Tap one to enlarge it, or follow the link to its Wikimedia Commons page for the full record. The narration, captions and graphics in the Short are our own; its music and sound effects are credited below.
Music and sound effects
Music: Schumann, Kinderszenen, Op. 15: No. 1 'Of Foreign Lands and Peoples (Musopen, public domain); Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition: IV. Bydlo (piano) (Musopen, public domain); Dvorak, Symphony No. 9 'From the New World': II. Largo (Musopen, public domain).
Sound effects: Freesound, CC0.
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