Who is Steffie Gregg? What did Raheem Sterling’s shirt say at Hungary game - after Twitch star dies of Covid

Raheem Sterling dedicated his goal during the England versus Hungary football match to his friend Steffie Gregg, who passed away from Covid-19 complications at age 26.

This is what you need to know.

Who is Steffie Gregg - and what happened?

Gregg was a prominent social media influencer and Twitch streamer as well. She has over 39,000 followers on Instagram.

She was the daughter of the former race car driver Gary Gregg, and the sister of Kyle ‘Speedy’ Gregg, also a race car driver.

Gregg was diagnosed with Covid-19, and she died after developing complications. She was reportedly airlifted to Miami, but passed away on Tuesday (31 August).

According to Dancehall Mag, Gregg reportedly had underlying health issues and suffered from Lupus, an autoimmune disorder, as well. Gregg was 26-years-old when she passed away.

The news of her death was first announced on Instagram by her uncle Tarik Johnston, commonly known as Rvssian, a Jamaican record producer.

He posted pictures of himself and Gregg, and wrote in the caption: “I feel helpless. My little Steffie @svg876_ I feel I failed you and couldn’t protect you from this… COVID is REAL, you don’t know until it hits home.”

He ended the post by saying that he’ll “never forget” her, and added: “Love you forever Steffie.”

What did Raheem Sterling say?

Raheem Sterling, the forward for Manchester City, paid tribute to Gregg after scoring a goal during England’s match with Hungary on Thursday (2 September). The two were known to be friends, and pictures from a few years ago on Instagram show Sterling and Gregg on holiday together with their respective partners.

In celebration of the goal, Sterling took off his shirt to reveal a message which read “Love you forever Steffie Gregg”.

On Twitter, the footballer shared images of him wearing his tribute to Gregg with the caption: “This one was for you SVG.”

Rvssian also shared pictures of Sterling’s tribute on Instagram, writing: “This brought so much tears to my eyes. LOVE YOUR FOREVER STEFFIE… @svg876_ Steffie your name will be remembered. Thank you @sterling7 for being a great friend and doin this. Real people do real things. She always had so much respect and love for you.”

In May 2018, Gregg had posted  a picture of herself at a football match wearing a “Sterling 7” shirt.

What happened after Sterling’s goal?

While Sterling dedicated his goal to Gregg, the moment was tarred by Hungarian football fans who booed the footballer and threw objects at him from the stands.

Hungary had already been instructed by UEFA to play its next two matches in empty stadiums in response to the racist and homophobic abuse touted by supporters during the European Championship in June.

Fans were only allowed in during this match because the game came under the jurisdiction of FIFA rather than UEFA, as Hungary was hosting England in European qualifying for next year’s World Cup.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemned the “unacceptable” racist abuse that the England footballers received.

He wrote on Twitter: “It is completely unacceptable that @England players were racially abused in Hungary last night.

“I urge @FIFAcom to take strong action against those responsible to ensure that this kind of disgraceful behaviour is eradicated from the game for good.”

Sterling was also given a yellow card for the celebration, as the rules state that players cannot remove their shirts to show any messages.

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