John Stones' touching gesture to five-year-old who passed away after leukaemia battle
John Stones has dedicated England's comeback win over Slovakia at Euro 2024 to a five-year-old child who has tragically passed away.
England beat Slovakia 2-1 thanks to late goals from Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane to set up a quarter-final match against Switzerland on Saturday. And Stones dedicated the win to five-year-old Dillan Ramsey-Aksehir, who lost his battle with leukaemia while the game was being played.
"Tonight was for Dillan," Stones wrote on Instagram, along with a photo of the five-year-old wearing a Manchester City shirt. "A special little boy that touched mine and my family's hearts. He's an inspiration to us all. Rest in peace little fighter, our thoughts are with his family during this unimaginably difficult time."
Stones also tagged Dillan's mother Amy, who announced on Sunday that he had passed away. "Dillan passed away today at 6.15pm, he wasn't in pain, and was still talking & making us laugh until he took his last breath," she wrote. "You are not in pain anymore Dilly my gorgeous boy.
"It doesn't even feel real that we had to leave the hospital without him tonight. I'm still in shock, I believed he would get better so much, that it feels like I've come home to get some clean clothes, and that I'm going to just go back tomorrow and see his face."
Stones has supported Dillan's fight against leukaemia for many years, with the defender attending an event in 2022 at City's Academy Stadium in aid of the youngster to encourage people to become stem cell donors to fight against blood cancer.
Dillan was diagnosed with leukaemia at the age of one in 2020 and suffered a relapse in 2022 after chemotherapy treatment. He received a bone marrow transplant following the event at City, but unfortunately suffered another relapse the following year.
Dillan Ramsey-Aksehir lost his battle with leukaemia while the game was being played
Stones' partner, Olivia Naylor, also donated £20,000 to a GoFundMe campaign for Dillan and his family and the footballer also raised money through a giveaway which offered fans the chance to win tickets to a game, a signed shirt and a pair of signed boots if they donated to the fundraiser.
Speaking after England's win over Slovakia, Stones said: "What a game, what a way for us to get through. It was not the way that we wanted to but I think the fight, the desire… that people wanted to see from us at home, from people in the stands – that fight for the shirt, for everyone that's come out to support us was there and more.
"That's what's got us through, we didn't play the best and that is down to us, which is frustrating. "But I hope now, coming through such a tough time and doing things, taking risks with the ball, we can implement that now and kind of take the handbrake off in some senses to let our quality show."
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