Jamaican-born England winger Raheem Sterling has become embroiled in controversy after unveiling a new tattoo of an M16 assault rifle on his right leg.

Sterling, who was just 2 when his father was shot dead in Jamaica, shared a picture of the new tattoo with his 3.6 million followers on Instagram.

Revealing the tattoo led to calls by anti-gun campaigners for him to be dropped from England’s World Cup squad unless he gets rid of or covers the image.

Raheem Sterling

Lucy Cope, of Mothers Against Guns, said the “tattoo is disgusting,” and “Raheem should hang his head in shame. It’s totally unacceptable.

“We demand he has the tattoo lasered off or covered up with a different tattoo. If he refuses he should be dropped from the England team. He’s supposed to be a role model but chooses to glamorise guns.”

The 23-year-old, despite the call for him to be dropped, trained with the England team on Monday.

Last season he scored 23 goals in all competitions while winning the English Premier League title with Manchester City.

He was recently in hot-water with England manager Gareth Southgate after turning up late for World Cup duty.