UEFA are set to launch an investigation into the farcical scenes that saw Cristiano Ronaldo approached by six pitch invaders during Portugal’s 3-0 demolition of Turkey.
The 39-year-old posed for a selfie with one young fan who entered the pitch in the second half but became increasingly irate
when three more supporters reached him before the final whistle.
Two other men breached the security cordon and got to the superstar during the post-match celebrations,
prompting Portugal manager Roberto Martinez to state his ‘concern’ over player safety.
He said: ‘It is a concern because today the intentions of the fans were good. But there will be a difficult moment if the intentions are wrong and players are exposed.
‘I don’t think that should happen. Maybe there is a message to the fans that this is not the right way. It is not good that the players are so exposed on the pitch.’
Bernardo Silva, who scored Portugal’s opening goal, added: ‘I’m not really concerned,
it’s just a bit annoying in terms of always having to stop the game because a fan enters the pitch.
‘Thats the price you pay for being so recognised in the world of football and having player like [Ronaldo] with us. In terms of feeling endangered, not me personally I don’t think.’
UEFA are understood to be reviewing the incidents.
The initial incident saw one young fan manage to evade security and run towards Ronaldo who stopped to embrace the child.
The child then pulled out a phone and posed for a photo with Ronaldo – who happily obliged – before running away again in an attempt to evade stewards.
He surprisingly dodged several attempts from guards who were trying to get the fan off the pitch so play could resume, but was eventually brought to a halt near the dugout.
Ronaldo was left in a good mood following the exchange that was made even better as Portugal won the game 3-0 to ensure their qualification to the knockout stages of the tournament.
But, the Al-Nassr striker wasn’t able to get on the scoresheet as his wait for a first strike at Euro 2024 continues, however, Ronaldo extended his lead as the competition’s record assist holder when he squared the ball to Bruno Fernandes for his side’s third goal.
Ronaldo was less than impressed when a second supporter tried to get access to him by jumping onto the pitch towards the end of the match.
The fan who was possibly encouraged by the success of the child in getting a picture with Ronaldo tried their luck but were stopped short by guards.
Another fan tried to do the same in the last minute of normal time, with six individuals in total making attempts to storm the pitch in a bid to get a picture with the five-time Ballon d’Or winner.
The most bizarre attempt came as Portugal players tried to leave the field at the end of the game, with stewards forming a circle around Ronaldo and his colleagues.
Two adults evaded challenges before eventually being halted by a group of guards as Ronaldo watched on clearly unimpressed by the security breaches.
A steward involved in the attempt to stop the intruder caused concern for a possible injury to striker Goncalo Ramos after falling into the leg of the PSG star.
Pitch invaders usually face strict sanctions, including bans from stadiums for interrupting play.
Such is the clamour around Ronaldo, who is competing in a record-breaking sixth European Championship, means fans have been doing everything in their power to get close to the Portugal superstar.
Open training sessions have quickly been sold out, with 12 individuals attempting to invade the pitch earlier this month.
Ronaldo’s team-mate Jose Sa was forced to intervene with one pitch invader during an open training session.
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Source: USA Today
