Teen from London with cerebral palsy mocked for playing football. Fulham backs him

A touching story about a boy who refuses to give up.

13-year-old Rhys Porter, who has cerebral palsy and epilepsy, lives in London, supports the football club Fulham and plays for Feltham Bees, a football team for people with disabilities that is linked to the professional club Brentford. Rhys is a goalkeeper. 

The boy created a TikTok account and posted several videos of himself playing football. One of the clips went viral and drew many negative comments. In the video he makes a save, the moment when a goalkeeper blocks a shot on goal. 

Kelly Porter
Rhys's mother

There were many hateful comments, many truly unpleasant ones. People confidently wrote things like "You can't play football, you're disabled." It was terrible to read, but at the same time we know that life and reality can be quite harsh. We didn't think about hiding this from him, we simply discussed it together and tried to move on. 

The boy himself said he was very upset, but he is trying to overcome it and looks for positive aspects in the situation. He joined the Make It Count campaign by the British charity Scope, which helps people with disabilities. 

Through the Make It Count website, such people can set physical activity goals and raise donations for Scope. The teen set up a two-week challenge for himself and committed to making 20 saves every day. 

On September 23, the boy and his mother were invited to the BBC Breakfast TV program. On air, one of his favorite footballers, Fulham defender Tim Ream, came out to him. Rhys Porter was so moved that he could not hold back tears. 

He also visited Wembley Stadium and even trained with the England blind football team, where people with cerebral palsy play. Fulham included Rhys among its goalkeepers and invited him to the training base, where he practiced with goalkeepers Marek Rodak and Paulo Gazzaniga. 

On September 25, the teen attended a Fulham match against Bristol City, played at Bristol's Ashton Gate stadium. The match ended 1:1. In the 50th minute, when a Fulham striker scored a goal, the players ran over to the boy (he was sitting at the edge of the pitch) and celebrated with him. 

The press service of the football club said: "Everyone at Fulham was absolutely inspired by Rhys. We wanted to show him how impressed we were by his attitude to difficulties and his desire to help others."