Pitch Perfect chaos: Cristiano Ronaldo's night of selfies at Euro 2024
Cristiano Ronaldo had a close call on Saturday during Portugal's European Championship match against Turkey.
Portugal's coach, Roberto Martinez, expressed relief that the star player emerged unharmed after being confronted by four fans seeking selfies at Dortmund's Westfalenstadion.
The security breaches began in the second half of Portugal's 3-0 victory.
Ronaldo was initially accommodating, posing for a selfie with a young fan who evaded stewards in the 69th minute.
However, the situation escalated as two more individuals attempted to get close to Ronaldo in the final moments of the game.
The disruptions culminated with another fan, wearing a red Portugal jersey, managing to take a photo with the 39-year-old striker right after the final whistle.
As Ronaldo walked off the field with his teammates, two more people attempted to approach him but were restrained by security personnel.
“It is a concern,” said Martinez, "because today we were lucky that the intentions of the fans were good.
“We all love a fan that recognizes the big stars and the big icons in their minds. We all agree with that. But you can understand it was a very, very difficult moment — if those intentions are wrong, the players are exposed and we need to be careful with that. I don't think that should happen on a football pitch.” Martinez emphasized the importance of discouraging such behavior among fans.
“It's not the right way, you’re not going to get anything out of it,” Martinez added. "And what you do is probably the measures get worse for the future.
“It’s not good to get the players so exposed when you have people running on the pitch.”
Ronaldo's teammate, Bernardo Silva, who also scored against Turkey, downplayed the incident, noting, “It's just a bit annoying in terms of having to stop the game because a fan enters the pitch. That’s the price you pay for being so recognized in the world of football.“In terms of feeling in danger, no. Not me personally.”