Justin Combs has thanked the 45-year-old rapper - whose real name is Sean Combs – for being there for him after he was arrested for allegedly attacking his son’s American football coach for pushing him too hard during a training session.

He took to his Instagram account to share a heartwarming photograph of the pair, which he captioned: “I thank God for having a father that’s always there for me. Love you pops!”

The Bad Boys For Life htimaker is said to have assaulted strength and conditioning coach Sal Alosi with a metal weight after he yelled at the 21-year-old during a practice at UCLA’s training complex about 12:30 p.m on June 22.

Gossip website TMZ reported that Diddy was charged with three counts of assault with a deadly weapon, one count of making terrorist threats and one count of battery following the incident. However, a representative for the star has since claimed he acted in a “solely defensive” nature and believes once the truth comes out the case will be “dismissed”.

They stated: “The various accounts of the events and charges that are being reported are wholly inaccurate. What we can say now is that any actions taken by Mr Combs were solely defensive in nature to protect himself and his son. We are confident that once the true facts are revealed, the case will be dismissed.”

UCLA’s head football coach, Jim Mora, also issued a statement saying: “I’m thankful, that our staff showed the level of professionalism that they did in handling this situation. This is an unfortunate incident for all parties involved.

“[UCLA] will let the legal process run its course and refrain from further comment at this time”.