As the row rages over one MP’s call for tooth checks to determine the age of child refugees, Wayne Rooney is among those who has found himself as a somewhat unlikely hero for child refugees.
After the arrival of 14 teenagers to the UK from the Calais “Jungle” camp on Monday, Tory MP for Monmouth David Davies said they “don’t look like ‘children” and said mandatory dental checks would reassure the public the system was not being exploited.
But his comments also attracted the ire of LBC presenter James O’Brien - and just like that, footballer Wayne Rooney found himself dragged into the row:
Rooney, who now plays for Manchester United, began his career at Everton, aged just 16, in 2002.
His tweet prompted a number of others to suggest footballers who didn’t look as young as their years when they were teenagers...
One user posted a picture of the most recent Syrian under-17 football team:
David Beckham’s son Brooklyn was also used an example of someone who some believe looks older than his 17 years too:
As well as WWE wrestler-turned-actor Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson:
Yesterday British newspapers were condemned for questioning the “real” ages of child refugees arriving in the UK from the Calais jungle camp have been condemned for their “despicable” treatment of minors who have suffered trauma.
Images featured in publications including the Sun, the Daily Express and the Daily Mail prompted some to question whether the unaccompanied minors - who it is said are between 14 and 17 - really were teenagers.
But Twitter users had their own way of hitting back: by posting pictures of themselves at the same age.