Raheem Sterling addresses assault rifle tattoo criticisms

Manchester City and England winger Jamaican Raheem Sterling has explained his latest tattoo, an assault rifle on his right calf.

Sterling's choice of body art caused consternation among certain sections of the press, with The Sun newspaper calling his tattoo "sick" on its front page on Monday. 

Late Monday night, Sterling posted a picture of the front page on his Instagram page along with his reasoning behind the assault rifle tattoo. 

"When I was 2 my father died from being gunned down to death," Sterling said. 

"I made a promise to myself I would never touch a gun in my life time, I shoot with my right foot so it has a deeper meaning,” he added.

Sterling, 23, is currently training with England ahead of their warm-up matches before the World Cup, the first of which is against Nigeria at Wembley this Saturday. 

He won the Premier League with a superb Manchester City team this season, during which he suffered racial abuse outside City's training ground, and looks a certainty for a place in Gareth Southgate's starting XI in the World Cup.

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