DORTMUND, Germany (AP) — Portugal coach Roberto Martinez said Cristiano Ronaldo should consider himself lucky he was unharmed after four fans tried to take a selfie with him on the pitch during Saturday’s European Championship match.
This worrying incident of security breach took place during the second half of Portugal’s 3-0 win over Turkey at Dortmund’s Westfalenstadion.
Ronaldo was happy to take a selfie with a young fan who had dodged staff and entered the field in the 69th minute and then pulled out his cell phone.
However, Ronaldo was clearly unhappy when two more men tried to do the same in the final minutes of the game. Then another man – wearing a red Portugal jersey – approached the 39-year-old striker for a photo just moments after the final whistle.
Two further men subsequently attempted to confront Ronaldo as he left the field with his teammates, but were restrained by security on those occasions.
“It’s a concern because today we were lucky that the fans had good intentions,” Martinez said.
“We all love fans who idolise big stars and big icons in their minds. We all agree with that. But you can understand that it was a very difficult moment – if those intentions are wrong, then the players are exposed and we need to be careful about that. I don’t think that should happen on a football field.”
Martinez said it was important to send a message to fans that this behavior is not acceptable.
“This is not the right approach, you’re not going to achieve anything,” Martinez said. “And what you’ll do is probably make future measures even worse.
“It’s not good to leave players so open when people are running on the field.”
Ronaldo’s teammate and Turkey goal scorer Bernardo Silva said he was “not really worried” about the supporters who came onto the pitch.
“It’s a bit frustrating because the game has to be stopped because a fan entered the field,” Silva said. “That’s the price you pay for being so well-known in the world of football.
“In terms of feeling in danger, no. Personally I don’t think so.”
,
AP Euro 2024: https://apnews.com/hub/euro-2024
